Gegenschein
by Estrea
Summary: AU fic starring Morning Musume. Vampires and other supernatural creatures galore. In a world where light gathers, what lurks in the shadows? Answer: more than you want to know. Blood, yuri, violence. The works.
1. Prologue

Summary: When there is light, there is darkness. In the passage from night to day, there is a period of time when one can see an unearthly light. Gegenschein, the counter shine.

Actually, this is about vampires. Among other things. Humor, mystery, action and drama. Fun stuff. Oh, and yuri too. Of course. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the girls. I wish I did, but I don't. I do own all random passerbys as well as unfortunate victims. All the girls belong to UFA. D:

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**Prologue**

There are things that go _bump_ in the night.

More than just the horror stories to frighten little children into obedience, more than the whispered tales at bars that bind men closer over beer...

There are demons that walk the night. Tread carefully, and stray not far from home when dusk settles.

You don't want to meet one up close. You might not even live long enough to regret it.

Trust me. I know.

I was one of _them_ after all.

~*~*~

Normality was such a drag.

Pen to paper, rough drafts and notes scattered over an already littered table, fingers flying over a stained keyboard, the victim of one too many spilled drinks and bits of food. Toes tapped restlessly against cold tile, and she gnawed on her pen in frustration at the incomplete report winking back at her on the screen.

Her eyes her sandpapery and her brain was choked with rust. At least, that was what it felt like. She shook her head, hard. The deadline was in 6 hours, she couldn't afford to fall asleep now! Damn this paper for being almost half her grade for the class.

_Why did I leave it so late?! Argh! I'm never listening to those two again!_

Friends could be such a problem, no matter how much of a comfort they could be in better times. Her friends though, were _hardly_ the type that were conducive to her keeping up her grades. One was always happily goofing off with her, and the other was no better...well, that one was annoyingly intelligent behind her "my brain is made of cotton candy~" bimbo exterior. She sighed out loud and glared malevolently at the screen, as if willing her report to write itself.

_I hate being so average and normal and GAH!_

She flailed around wildly when a huge bug flew right past her nose, pen flying in one direction, glasses in another, and her ass found the floor in about 2 seconds flat. She groaned piteously and covered her face with one hand. Now the rest of her body was hurting along with her head.

Great, life was just GREAT.

_I hate you, Life! Oodles of hate! Bundles and crumples and humdingers of it! I hate being Normal!_

The computer screen blacked out. She shrieked in wordless horror, scrambling up to try and save her work from complete obliteration.

_Why does everything happen to me?!_

Yup, normal life was just fine and dandy.

~*~*~

High places were nice.

She stuck her tongue out, tasting the wind on it. City air was full of toxic substances though, so she drew it back again. Not that they could harm her.

She was already dead, after all.

The moon hung heavy and pregnant in the night sky, veiled thinly in the shadow of wispy clouds. She looked up, a fanged grin visible on her pale, young face, dark hair arrayed wildly around it. The tip of her tongue curled around the points of her fangs, exploring almost playfully how they felt in her mouth.

More than 10 years and she was still fascinated by how they developed and were still developing in her mouth. She didn't know vampires had teething problems before, a fact she had soon discovered on her own not long after her entry into unlife. So many things she didn't know, and was still learning.

_Geh, I don't need anyone...stupid Master..._

Tossed aside like a plaything...she hadn't liked that. Still didn't. Rejection stung. But she clung on to her second chance at life stubbornly, not letting things get her down, surviving despite the odds, fighting tooth and nail against others that wanted to erase her for being what she was.

She could fight though. Fighting was what she did, what she _was_. She grew up fighting bullies twice her size on the streets, died fighting a monster three times her size and about ten times stronger who had wanted her for supper, and was revived by yet another demon who happened to pass by. And the first thing she had done upon waking up then was to claw at her Master's eyes.

_Pfft, I just __**look**__ small. I'm __**not**__ weak._

Anyone itching for a fight would _get_ one from her. Never mind that it would probably be their last, if they were human.

_I'm hungry again._

The thought was sudden, as was the craving. Her nose twitched, catching the scent of blood in the whispery breeze. A low growl, animalistic and fierce, and blood red eyes.

She leapt, shadow on steel and concrete. It was a good night for hunting.

Too bad for those who were prey.

~*~*~

_Don't change. I like you the way you are._

So that person said, smiling, and stepped into the flames.

She jolted from her light doze, upsetting the clear crystal goblet perched on the little table by that voluminous armchair she was currently ensconced in.

For a moment she forgot where she was, who she was, even what she was. Blissful incomprehension, for that one second, only to be broken, literally, by the shards embedded in the rich red carpet, winking innocently in the candlelight. A viscous drop hung perilously on the edge, before merging seamlessly with the heavy fabric below it.

_Ah, that's right. I am no longer human._

Frozen into an eternal "now". That was what she was. Beauty crystallized into unyielding diamond, white as a marble sculpture, forever young, forever beautiful, perfection locked within an endless eternity, unchanging.

_How many nights have I spent alone, counting the distance between us?_

Every second, every minute, every nonexistent heartbeat that passed, putting her yet another step, another gasp away from her originator. Her cruelly humane, gently unyielding and oh so very beautiful master. He had set her free, and then locked her into another existence more inescapable than fate itself. Immortal, unchanging, inhuman and...beautiful.

_He loved what he saw in me, so much that he bestowed his curse upon me._

So that her innocence, her beauty, would not fade and wilt in time as any mortal rose might. Innocence she no longer held, no more, not this way, but beauty she retained.

_Live, and do not change._

His final command, before embracing the final rest, vanishing in a storm of ash and flame, his terrified fledgling left to face the darkness of the neverending nights to come, stretching endlessly before her until death would take her, or madness would.

She had seen many nights since. Some nights were light, filled with music and dance, laughter and carousing from those vicariously burning through their mortal coil. Others were painted red, so much so that they shaded into a deep darkness, tears and sorrow creating their own dirge as the moon winked out, covered by the clouds of war and misery.

_Soon, it will be morning._

Night always came to an end, somehow. The day, a time of renewal, of fresh life, of change, for better and worse, running its course. A cycle as eternal as she was.

_A morning that I shall face alone._

Once more, once again. Those who shared her immortality did not necessarily share her immunity. The sun was a blight to the others, the ones fresh into the eternal night. For one such as her, enduring the millennia had its rewards, such as being able to see the sun again without fear of dissolving into the ashes she should have belonged to, so many ages ago.

_Master, why would you have me live while you chose death?_

She could not cry, she would not. There would be no meaning for them now. After surviving all this time, she had learned to accept, even if she did not always understand. The alternative was insanity, and she would not betray the life she had been given, no matter how heavy the burden of eternity was.

Rising, she came to stand by the window, one pale hand reaching out to hover close to the crystal clear pane, dark eyes far away on the horizon, on that lighter patch of sky on the dark vistas, waiting for morning to return.

_When will my morning come for me too, I wonder?_

Until her own dawn broke, she would wait. As she had, all this time.

After all, time was all that she had..

_Sunshine smile down, chasing away velvet night_

_Till sun returns, till sun returns_

_Until morning comes to embrace us all once again._


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the girls. Just the random people who appear. Oh, and the plot. UFA has exclusive rights on the girls. Darn.

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Chapter 1**

"Ah~ I'm SO tired!" That declaration was followed by a loud thump as a figure slumped over the wooden workbenches, a picture of utter exhaustion. Across from her, her two best friends giggled. Well, one of them giggled. The other made a sympathetic face and patted the prone shoulder.

"All nighter?" She asked knowingly, reading the dark circles and lack of bounciness in her usually more upbeat friend with fair accuracy. Then again, one didn't need to be a genius to read such signs. One look around the campus grounds would reveal an alarming number of people with similar symptoms. Deadline fever, the universal leveler...

The prone figure whimpered in assent, but was interrupted as the third member of their trio cut in with a thoughtful gleam in her eyes.

"You were awfully loud for someone this tired though, Gaki-san~" Said Gaki-san, otherwise known as Niigaki Risa, huffed and rolled her eyes, although she did not lift her face up to show it. She had gotten close to no sleep the night before, so she had every right to be tired. She needed 8 hours to be a healthy, functioning adult! All nighters were so _not_ her thing.

"I'm not weird like you, Sayumin." Risa raised her head blearily and yawned widely. "I don't get how you survive on irregular hours the way you do..." She opened one eye to glance at her other friend, who had a spaced out expression on her face again. "Kame too, how do you two pull it off?"

"Yes." Kame, or Kamei Eri, agreed blandly without changing expression. Risa, used to the lack of elaboration from her spacey turtle friend, turned her look to one Michishige Sayumi instead. The self styled "ichiban kawaii" girl tapped her fingers on the table and smiled brilliantly as she translated the vague answer her best friend gave.

"We make up for it in other ways. Naps are good!" Sayumi flashed a peace sign and another mega kilowatt smile. Eri smiled vaguely again as she glanced over at Sayu. "Yes." Was her simple agreement, and the two clasped hands on the tabletop, neither seeming willing to let go any time soon.

Risa hit her forehead against the table again. Sometimes those two were just beyond her comprehension.

"Oh I remember now!" Eri suddenly burst out, returning, as it were, back to normal reality. Neither Risa nor Sayumi so much as blinked at the sudden burst of enthusiasm. One just got used to the dynamic they shared in time. After a while, they pretty much learned what to expect when certain personality markers showed up in their interactions. It was just a matter of adapting to the situation.

"I forgot to hand in my draft to my tutor!" Eri pounded the table with her free hand, eyes glassing over briefly as mild panic started to seep in.

Risa had no such qualms over such an act though. She was already halfway out of her seat and ready to haul Eri over to fetch said draft for submission, complete with horrified expression and mile-a-minute scoldings. Eri chuckled nervously, tugged by her panicky friend on one arm, but still attached to Sayu with the other hand.

"Ow..." Eri whimpered as she was stretched, since Sayu hadn't let go and Risa was pulling pretty hard. Risa immediately stopped to check Eri over, while Sayumi rolled her eyes at them, still maintaining her death grip on Eri's left hand.

"Oh chill, you two. No need to get so excited." The devil bunny-loving girl smirked as Risa started to protest, cutting off the older short with a raised hand.

"I already handed her draft in for her. I have a class with Suzuki-sensei too, so I dropped it off with him just now." Sayumi smiled beatifically. "Eririn was sleeping so peacefully that I didn't have the heart to wake her this morning, so I just went ahead and did it~" The youngest of the trio shot off her sweetest smile as she pulled Eri back down to snuggle happily with her.

"You're a lifesaver, Sayu." Eri beamed brightly, and Risa let out a sigh of relief as she sank back into her seat facing them as well.

"Sheesh...Kame, if you didn't have your usagi-chan with you, you'd be in big trouble." Risa shook her head with a rueful laugh. "What would you do without her?"

"Badly, I'd imagine." Sayumi sniffed just a bit haughtily, although her eyes betrayed a merry twinkle as she leaned her head on Eri's shoulder. Eri merely shrugged with a lazy smile on her face.

"There's always you, Gaki-san. You were the one reminding me of deadlines throughout first year the whole time, before Sayu made it in."

"Haaa....don't remind me." Risa stuck her tongue out at Eri. "You're hopeless, Eri."

Eri laughed. "Eh, I'm not _that_ bad. It's not like I _always_ forget...eh, do I?" The turtle girl pondered aloud, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hand.

"No, you just do it _most_ of the time." Risa and Sayu echoed in unison, before staring at each other. Risa chuckled, rubbing at the light rash on the back of her neck. It was just getting too warm these days, and long hair wasn't helping her case at all.

"You must be rubbing off on me, Sayu..." Sayumi smirked and flashed another 'V' for victory, her own lustrously long and dark hair tied up in twintails. Her dark eyes were lively as she detached herself from Eri, though their hands remained linked.

"Hey guys!" She started brightly, even though she had only approximately 2 hours of sleep the night before. "Since all our deadlines are over today, why don't we go out and celebrate?" She beamed again, playing with her hair.

"Oh, count me out, all I want to do now is to sleep for 2 days straight." Risa waved a hand weakly in defeat, slumping back down on the table. Eri giggled, poking Risa's puffed up cheeks as Sayu snorted.

"That's not sleeping, that's hibernating!" Sayu joined Eri in poking Risa's cheeks, and their senior puffed them out again in silent protest. Eri then added on to her best friend's comment.

"You don't want to turn into a sleepy grumpy bear, do you? Let's go out and have fun, and then you can sleep!" Eri finished with a broad grin, and the pair seated opposite Risa looked like Cheshire cats up to no good. Well, more Sayumi than Eri, but you get the idea.

"Speaking of bears..." Sayumi began, digging into her purse absently for something, before triumphantly extracting the object. "Aha!"

Eri burst out laughing. Risa took one look and was suddenly re-energized into trying to scramble for the incriminating photo. "Mou! Give that back!"

"Nanana~ Gaki-san the pedobear~" Sayumi grinned evilly as she waved the photo with the words scrawled over it. Risa flailed around trying to get at it, but failing miserably. The little devil smirked again, tucking the photo back where it was safely away from prying eyes (and hands).

"If you don't want me to stick this photo on the announcement board, you WILL go to the party with us tonight." Risa groaned and buried her face in her hands, as Eri and Sayu gave each other high fives.

"Mou, you two...that's blackmail..." Risa whined as her friends marched over to her side and started packing up her things for her. Sayumi flashed another grin, winking roguishly at her.

"Whatever it takes, senpai...whatever it takes..."

~*~*~

The loud crack of splintering wood and breaking bone echoed through the secluded little alley, seeming preternaturally loud above the faint sounds of traffic further out on the main thoroughfare.

Pale fingers flexed on a small black gloved hand, making small flicking motions outwards as if to shake something unclean off it. Quiet sobs of pain emerged from the shadowy corner where the first impact had originated, murmurs of fear rippling in a palpable wave towards the perpetrator.

Booted feet clacked on dirty gravel, past yet another moaning form half hunched over, victim of a solid punch that had knocked the wind out of him. His partner lay wheezing in a pile of collapsed crates, clutching at his broken arm and whimpering pathetically. He flinched backwards as his assailant got closer, squeezing his eyes shut in anticipation of more pain.

Only it never came, as that same gloved hand that had tossed him halfway across the alley simply picked up the bag that had slipped from his fingers, turning away with a contemptuous snort.

"Run." The terrified thug blinked at his sudden good fortune, scrambling up as quickly as he could to obey the low voiced command, holding his injured arm close to his body and tripping all over himself to make his escape.

"Amateurs." The only person left standing in the alley snorted, exiting the alley to find the wide-eyed little girl who was still on her butt, sobbing quietly in terror and cradling her scratched arm to herself. The child blinked in mid-sob when her missing bag was dangled in front of her face, and she looked up at the person holding it.

"Here. This is yours." The voice that had sounded so threatening in the alley had now modulated into a tone approaching gentleness. The little girl stared at her reflection in the mirrored sunglasses her savior wore, wondering why that big sister was wearing them when the sun had already set for the last hour.

"...thank...you..." The child stammered out, reaching out for her bag and making brief contact with the pale fingers holding it, feeling a strange chill as she did. With some effort, she climbed to her feet, though that stranger made no offer to aid her.

Instead, her own reflection continued to stare back at her, the sunglasses lending a certain inscrutability to that mysterious girl who had just saved her. If anything, the stranger seemed to be staring at something on her, lips pressed thinly together, the surface of her pale skin almost seeming to reflect the weak moonlight peeking through the dusty clouds above.

As she brushed herself off, the girl continued to feel that inexplicable sense of dread churning her stomach, her sense that something was just not _right_ shrieking warnings at her and blaring sirens in her head. The crisp bite of cold night air had not yet settled in, but she felt chilled all the same.

Instinctively, she took a step backwards when the strange girl stepped forward, unable to repress the shudder that ran through her spine at the increased proximity. Dimly, she realized that her knees were quivering as she suddenly felt very small, even though the stranger wasn't very much bigger than she was.

A smile that was not quite a smile appeared on the face of the older girl, as she placed one cool hand on the little one's shoulder.

"Go home. It's not safe out here." Her grip tightened, ever so slightly, on the small shoulder, as if reluctant to let go, but quickly pushed the little girl back, sending the child stumbling back a little under the force. "_Quickly_." The voice had lowered to little more than a growl again, and the little girl needed no more encouragement to start bolting.

Eyes hidden behind the shades watched her go, a peculiar mix of emotions flickering within them. Her ears pricked up at the whisper of movement behind her, the racing heartbeat and shallow breathing alerting her senses.

In a blur of motion, she was gone, and a switchblade plunged down into empty air. The hand holding it extended back to a stunned face, and the remaining thug who had been knocked down with a single punch before looked around in utter bewilderment.

He gasped out loud, stiffening as something abruptly choked his airway, eyes widening as he struggled against the iron grip on his neck, knife slipping from his hand as he tried to pry the fingers that were threatening to cut off his breathing.

"You know, I would have let you go if you hadn't tried to attack me." A voice mused from behind him, tightening that icy grip around the man's neck as he began to choke, spluttering and desperately trying to get a breath.

His assailant continued on conversationally as he started to suffocate, only dimly aware that he was being hauled backwards into the alley he had just come out of.

"Now you've gone and made me angry, and even though I'm not really that hungry, I won't turn down a free meal." Pale lips pulled back into a mirthless grin, revealing a set of elongated canines that appeared bone white against the dark.

"_Itadakimasu._"

~*~*~

"How did you get invited to a party like this?" Risa yelled over the noise of the party happening all around them. Sayumi waved back at her from the dance floor, indicating at her ear to imply that she couldn't hear the older girl. Risa rolled her eyes and moved closer to where her two friends were dancing with each other.

"I said, HOW DID YOU GET INVITED TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS?!" Risa bellowed into Sayumi's ear, making the younger wince, clapping a hand over the abused ear.

"No need to shout, Gaki-san. I heard you this time." Sayumi smiled ingratiatingly at her displeased senior, who looked as if she would rather be anywhere but here. Next to her, Eri latched onto the scowling Risa, pulling at her shorter friend's cheeks to make her smile (however awkwardly).

"Kame, stop that. You know it doesn't hurt me." Risa stated matter-of-factly, or as well as she could considering how her cheeks were being stretched. Eri grinned impudently and continued to pull playfully, as if trying to elicit more than just the usual bored response from Risa.

"Aw cheer up, Gaki-san. You just have to cut loose a little. It's the end of semester!" Sayumi latched on to Risa's other side, eyes alight with laughter. On the other side, Eri was also grinning goofily, and Risa felt any irritation she had with them or the place melt away.

"Oh fine. But I'm not lugging Eri home when she passes out later!" She waved a finger at Sayumi, who snapped at it playfully with her teeth. Eri protested from the side.

"I won't pass out!" Risa turned on her with a skeptical look.

"Oh yeah?" Eri nodded vigorously. "I slept through the whole morning and early afternoon before I met up with you guys! So I'll be ok for tonight!"

"Yeah, I calculated, she won't pass out until at least...1 in the morning." Sayumi predicted after quickly counting off on her fingers.

"So we better leave by midnight." Risa said decisively, snapping her fingers. Eri pouted indignantly at her friends.

"I'm almost 20 already, so stop babying me, you two!" Risa chuckled and patted the sulking Eri on the head. Sayumi giggled and pulled at the two of them, dragging the trio to the side away from the main chaos zone of the dance floor.

"You still haven't answered my question, Sayumin. How did you get invited?" Risa looked around the welter of college students massing in the club, where alcohol was flowing freely and not a few couples were already making out at some corners. And it was only 8 in the evening.

"This looks like a private party too..." Eri observed, snagging a drink from a passing tray, about to gulp it down before Risa snatched it from her to examine it first, ascertaining that it was really just fruit punch before returning it to the pouting Eri again. Sayumi winked outrageously again, blowing a kiss at them.

"Hi-mi-tsu~" Eri drank up as Risa raised an eyebrow, asking aloud half to herself.

"Do I want to know?" She paused, eyes sweeping the crowd again. "I probably don't want to know." She decided, answering her own question. She grabbed a drink as well.

"Now that annoying questions are out of the way, let's have fun!" Sayu clapped her hands together gleefully. She skipped back over to Eri.

"Dance with me, Eriiiiiiiiiic~" Risa had to laugh as Eri rolled her eyes, emulating the faux masculine persona that she had assumed the previous year for the drama production Risa had dragged her into, and Sayu squealed happily again as the pair mingled back into the dance floor. Risa looked after them, amusement twitching her lips as she sipped at her drink. Then she stared down at her glass.

"What _is_ this?" It was better than any fruit punch she had ever tried before. She took another sip, and the liquid almost burned down her throat in silky perfection. Blinking widely, she sat back down at the nearest free seat she found, then looked around in confusion.

"This is good!" She beamed brightly, suddenly feeling less tired and grumpy from before, and continued taking little sips, not minding so much that she had been left alone again.

She jumped a little though, when another glass banged down on the counter somewhere next to her. Blinking owlishly at her neighbor, she realized that the gesture wasn't directed at her, and tuned in automatically to the conversation she had been ignoring ever since first sitting down.

"What the HELL is this, Eizan? I said I wanted the BEST for this party, and THIS is what you give me?" The young man pounded the counter again, his piercings jangling with the movement. Risa noted the state of his attire and concluded rather quickly that the boy was rich. As if the groveling attitude of the other guy next to him wasn't obvious enough.

"Sh...Shiro-sama!" The much larger male seemed to cringe under the wrath of the slimmer young man that was seething in front of him. "Is it the food? The drinks?" Eizan looked like he was about to cry. Shiro took a negligent sip at the glass he had banged down earlier.

"No, the drinks are fine. _One_ thing you didn't do wrong, at least." He looked around the crowd. "Decent group you've gathered too. However..." His eyes narrowed as the music continued to pound along obnoxiously.

"What the HELL is this music! I said to get the best DJ in the city, no matter the price. I. Can. Afford. It." The last few words were punctuated with consecutive jabs against Eizan's chest, before waving at the sound system. "This is substandard trash! Playing on the best audio equipment available! What were you thinking?!"

Eizan cringed again, bowing ineffectually to his irate 'Shiro-sama'. He spluttered as he tried to explain, and Risa almost felt sorry for him. But then again, she sort of understood what this Shiro meant about the music, even though he _was_ being an insufferable jerk about it. Whoever was running the system wasn't doing any justice to the equipment available to him at all.

"W-we contacted the best already! S-she's on her way!" Eizan managed to get out, obviously hoping that Shiro would be appeased. However, the spoiled young man frowned.

"On _her_ way? A _woman_?" He glowered at his cronies arrayed behind the poor Eizan who was getting the verbal lashing. "I pay people to take time for me! Why is this _woman_ late?" He scowled, the expression marring his otherwise handsome face. "And who the hell is this female DJ?"

"I can leave now if you want, Kanzaki Shiro-kun." A cold voice penetrated the cacophony flooding the background. Although the voice was not raised, it somehow managed to make itself heard well and clearly to those in that area, and the owner of that voice followed into the picture not long after.

Risa stared at the new arrival, her grip on her glass going slack as her attention was sucked in by that person. A similar effect seemed to ripple around the majority of the onlookers of the scene, and a small hush seemed to fall over the crowd. The commanding presence inspired instant respect, and even the arrogant Kanzaki Shiro seemed a little taken offguard by the sudden appearance.

"You...you are..." He stuttered, his blue tinted shades slipping down his nose. Eizan discreetly moved to flank Shiro's side, muttering to his boss.

"She's DJ Seirei. It took me a whole week to persuade her to even consider the offer. Not even the most elite clubs can get her to make an appearance half the time." Eizan seemed almost proud of his accomplishment in actually persuading the reclusive DJ to come over.

Shiro seemed to pull himself together, trying to present a cool facade for the woman facing him. He sized her up, mildly surprised at how such a small woman who barely reached his chin could project such an aura that had unsettled even him.

"Seirei, huh? I've heard of you." He smiled confidently, looking at her appreciatively. "No one ever told me you were this beautiful though..." He reached out to kiss her hand, but she slipped out of range smoothly, her motions tinged with an unearthly grace.

"Kanzaki-san, I do not take such advances kindly." The words were edged with steel, and dark eyes flickered over to where Eizan stood next to his boss. "I only came because Yuuhi Eizan-kun was so sincere in his approach." Her gaze was icy as she refocused back on the surprised Shiro.

"Appreciate your people more, Kanzaki Shiro. All the money in the world can only buy you sycophants, not friends." Her voice was soft, almost melodious, but it cut through the air like so many gleaming knives. Shiro seemed to pale even more as he met her piercing gaze, and he staggered back, trembling slightly.

"I will take my place now, Yuuhi-kun. I will honor my word." She inclined her head briefly before melting back through the crowd, heading towards the audio room. Shiro seemed to sink bonelessly down onto his seat, a trickle of sweat making its way down the side of his face.

"Shiro-sama! Are you alright?" Eizan seemed concerned, handing another drink to Shiro, who took it shakingly and swallowed it all in one gulp.

"So...that's the legendary Seirei..." He stared into the recesses of his empty glass. "Incredible...she's..." He shuddered again, before putting the glass back on the counter.

"I'm leaving, Eizan. Take care of things around here." Shiro pushed past his stunned crony, walking right past the silent Risa, who had been watching the whole encounter with widened eyes. She was no less impressed by what had just occurred, since she _knew_ of Kanzaki Shiro, number one playboy on campus and possibly the richest student there. Having a multi-millionaire for a father had its perks.

That this Seirei person could just put him in his place so easily...Risa was impressed. More than impressed, when she noticed just how shaken Shiro was when he walked past her moments earlier. She didn't know what he saw in that woman's eyes, since her view of it was blocked by his back, but she had heard her words, and had agreed internally with them. That had been something that the rich boy Kanzaki had needed to be told, and Risa was glad that this DJ had been able to stand her ground against him.

The music seemed to change almost subtly in the air, leaving no doubt that a master had taken over the amateur's place. The party, which had sort of gotten a little sidetracked by the little ruckus caused by Kanzaki earlier, was slowly coaxed back into full swing by the undoubted skill of the new DJ. Risa closed her eyes, feeling the pulsing beat of the music, amazed how the difference made by the choice of music could influence the mood of the mob.

"Did you see that?" Eri gushed suddenly as she and Sayu made their way back to Risa, bringing the oldest of the trio back to earth as they joined her at the counter.

"What?" Eri gestured vaguely around, quite excited. "You were right here, you should have seen it even better!"

Risa blinked. "Oh, you mean the part where Kanzaki got told off? Oh yeah, I saw that." Sayu slid into the seat next to Risa, and Eri plopped down unceremoniously on her lap, still beaming brightly.

"Don't you think that was the coolest thing ever?" Risa had to smile at Eri's enthusiasm, nodding with a chuckle.

"Yeah, absolutely..." Her mind drifted back to the memory of Seirei's slim figure standing proudly within a circle made of Kanzaki's men. "Very cool..."

"I wonder who's that girl though, she must be really brave to just scold him like that." Eri mused, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. Behind her, Sayumi also hummed thoughtfully.

"She was so cool..." The youngest agreed, thinking back to the strange sensation she had felt back when Seirei was staring Kanzaki down. "I think she's someone special..." Eri's head bobbed up and down, adding. "She's really pretty too!"

"Ha, but _I'm_ cuter!" Sayumi puffed up instantly, and Eri pretended to frown at her. "No you aren't!"

"Yes I am!" The two pretended to squabble, bickering playfully and batting at each other as Risa looked on, amused by the scene, but gradually spacing out again.

_Seirei...I wonder what she's like...?_

One song phased to the next, pattering raindrops seeming to echo around the place. A dazed smile crossed Risa's face as she recognized the song.

_Daydream, huh?_ Her smile grew wider. _I like this person already._

In the audio room facing down from above the dance floor, the lone figure there smiled.

~*~*~

The (relatively) young vampire was in insanely good cheer. First, she had gotten to hit someone earlier, even though it had been a rather unsatisfying fight. Secondly, she had gotten a free meal out of it, and that was the main cause of her good mood. Because of that, she wanted to party, and now that she was well fed, it would be safe to hang out amidst a mass of warm bodies gyrating on a dance floor. The temptation to feed wouldn't be so compelling now that she was actually _full_.

"Reina wants to have fun!" She announced to no one in particular, although a startled rat darted across her path to seek sanctuary in the ditch by the side. The now eternally 18 year old Tanaka Reina grinned, fangs and all, spreading her arms as if to embrace the moon hanging in the sky above her.

Letting her senses spread out in an erratic wave starting from the center (aka, herself), she _listened_, wanting to pinpoint the right direction to head towards for a good party somewhere. She was in an area of the city that had the most active nightlife, so she had no doubt that she would at least find _something_ to entertain her for the rest of the night.

_Boring...boring...boring...oooh fun, but ugh feels weird..._ Searching this way was faster, although not always accurate. Still, it beat checking out each spot place by place. Tedium did not suit Reina, and she went out of her way to avoid it.

Her concentration was terminated abruptly when someone bumped into her, a strange buzz tingling through her at the contact. She scowled, growling low in her throat as she whirled around to glare at the perpetrator, who only muttered a halfhearted 'sorry' as he stalked off, clearly in a bad mood.

Reina frowned, half tempted to beat the shit out of him for bumping into her, but she was feeling charitable tonight and decided not to take offense.

She would have ignored him entirely too, in order to find a good place to go party for the rest of the night, but she suddenly clapped her hands over her ears when some of his thoughts started leaking to her.

Sometimes her powers were way too unpredictable...or just that this guy was thinking WAY too loudly. Reina briefly reconsidered her earlier decision not to beat him up. If it meant making his mind shut up...

However, she caught an interesting image from his thoughts, and suddenly that momentary buzz when he had bumped into her made _sense_. Sort of. She shivered all over, brimming with a strange kind of excitement. To be strong enough to leave that kind of power residue in a moment's contact...Reina felt her anticipation bubble up inside her again, eyes alight.

_Interesting...so interesting...Reina must see this!_

With a slightly maniacal grin on her face, the vampire set off, ready to crash yet another party.

_The night is young!_ She whistled as she went, no fear of the night in her undead heart. After all, what could be scarier than herself?

Yes, unlife was just wonderful.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own the drunken crowd. And the story. Ah, if only I had rights on the girls...

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**Chapter 2**

Sayumi wondered which was worse, doing crazy things while drunk, or not being drunk enough to fail to notice just how crazy things were.

Rhetorical questions aside though, she was really trying her best to get tipsy, but somehow it didn't seem to _work_. Granted, a certain pair kept snatching up most of the drinks before she could even get to them, but given how much she had managed to down despite that, she wished she could feel more than just a light head and an annoying buzz in her mind.

Damn her alcohol tolerance levels, she couldn't get drunk even if she tried.

Speaking of drunk, her friends were pretty much in a world of their own now. Sayumi sighed and facepalmed as Risa started singing some weird 70s love song in a very offkey way, waving around a glass of that strange fruit punch and gesticulating at some imaginary person that only she could see.

And Eri was no better, doing some weird robotic dance movements along to the background music and attracting quite a crowd to watch the usually more reserved (in public) girl show off some fairly slick moves. Well, it was a drunken kind of slick, but it could have been a lot worse. Sayumi had to fend off several guys who had wanted to drag her beloved Eririn off to some dark corner, and a pissed off Sayu was usually a sight to behold.

Not to mention how Risa happened to pack a punch even while tipsy. Sayu never knew that Risa had it in her to smash her glass into a guy's face. Thankfully, that little altercation hadn't lasted long, since Risa stumbled back to them almost immediately and clung on to Eri like a drowning person to a life buoy, while said guy passed out (he was equally drunk, if not more, and the impact sped up his entry to dreamland) right after.

At least, Sayumi reasoned, Risa wasn't completely gone. Somewhat woozy and probably more than a little aggressive, but not falling down drunk like a certain turtle was.

Speaking of turtles, Eri was currently getting awfully touchy feely with everyone in range. Thankfully, said range was currently being limited to Risa, who was still clinging on to Eri for some reason or another, be it her own comfort or for Eri's safety, one couldn't be sure.

Sayu just couldn't decide if she wanted to be jealous or just join in though. She wasn't drunk enough to forget herself yet.

It was amazing how much could happen in the space of two hours, really. Sayumi took another glass of punch, stared at it, then at the cuddling pair next to her.

She drank. Even if she couldn't get drunk that easily, she could very damn well _try_.

~*~*~

A small hand wiped at the corner of her mouth, a crimson streak staining the worn leather of the glove. The body fell limply to the ground with a dull thud, and bloodstained fangs gleamed crazily in the moonlight. A self-satisfied smirk adorned lips now flush and painted with fresh blood, and a long tongue came out to clean up the remains of her snack.

"That should be enough." Reina muttered as she straightened, taking a box of matches from her boot and striking one of them, the flame bursting alight. She let it fall onto the still corpse, eyes focusing intensely as the baby flame lapped greedily at the clothes.

The dancing fire reflected in her eyes seemed to grow, and her brows knit together into an intense look of concentration. The actual flame dimmed on the body, then flared up with renewed vigor.

In seconds, the corpse was wreathed in flames, and Reina had to step back as the fire intensified beyond normal standards.

The fire was almost cheery, Reina reflected, holding out her hands over the merrily burning body that was slowly being reduced to ashes.

So unlike the flame that had very damn near claimed her own life; at least this one she could manipulate, to some degree. She sincerely hoped she would never run into an efreet ever again. Once had been more than enough.

Once the evidence of her meal had been eliminated, Reina held up her arm to the flickering streetlight as she strolled out of the alley, marveling at how her pale skin now had some semblance of _life_ to it.

She hadn't felt this pleasantly warm in a long time. Almost _human_. She took a deep breath, an unneeded one, trying to get used to feeling human again.

Trying to pass as one wasn't something she particularly enjoyed doing ever since entering her second life, but it just wouldn't do to freak out a whole house of people. Not unless she was planning to finish them all off...that sounded pretty tempting actually.

Reina burped, and changed her mind. She already had too much for the evening. Reina wasn't sure if she could get fat on drinking blood, but she wasn't about to risk it.

Besides, killing that many people in one place would draw far too much attention, and in her 10 years as a literal leech, she had found out that drawing attention this way made life _very_ inconvenient for her. One close shave with a novice hunter had taught her the virtues of keeping her head down. Those anti-midian weapons had _hurt_.

_Now, where is that damned place?!_ Reina growled as she stalked around. Admittedly, her sense of direction wasn't the best, either before or after she became a vampire, but she had gotten _somewhat_ better ever since. Having an advanced sense of smell along with phenomenal eyesight tended to help her get her bearings.

However, it still took some time to wander to the right place. Assuming it _was_ the right place. Reina wrinkled her nose. She could smell alcohol, cigarettes, and vomit. Typical of a college party, as it were. Reina sighed, suddenly less interested. Her acute sense of smell was turning her off the place, even if it was in an upmarket district.

Then again, she wanted to find that powerful person or creature. If someone that strong was setting up in her city, she wanted to know about it. Besides, she had always wanted to find another vampire to talk to.

In the 10 years since her turning, the only strong vampire she had ever encountered had been her own master. She had run into a couple of young punks like herself around, but they hadn't gotten along at all, and Reina had been forced to fight and kill them.

Reina_ really_ wanted to find someone who understood her condition. There were still so many other things she didn't know, for lack of a master's guidance.

A familiar scowl worked its way onto her face at that thought. She still hadn't forgiven her master for abandoning her so quickly. Reina was a vindictive sort, and fully planned on giving her irresponsible master a good piece of her mind the next time she saw that insufferable woman.

In the midst of her mental ramblings, Reina's feet had started moving of their own volition, leading her to the entrance. Someone had conveniently left the door open, and the sounds of someone retching in the bushes nearby clearly indicated what said person had exited to do. Reina shrugged and slipped in, not above taking opportunities as they came. As she did so, she did her best to try and look human.

Then again, considering how drunk most of the young people in the place were, she could have sprouted claws and bat wings along with her fangs and nobody would have cared or even noticed. Reina briefly wondered if she used to be as crazy as they were back when she was one of them. She decided not to think about it after a moment's consideration though. It was just too depressing to compare things as they were right now.

Meandering around the grounds, she kept all her senses open for that power signature she had picked up on earlier. Frustratingly, there was nothing, at least none that she could discern immediately. Could whatever it was have left already? It was a distinct possibility, after all.

Scowling, Reina stared at the few people who were still sober enough to dance...or rather, sober enough not to trip and fall face first on the ground, since whatever it was they were doing, 'dancing' was the furthest thing from it.

Without really thinking about it, Reina continued barging her way around, feeling decidedly grumpy for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the fact that her quarry was lost. Even though she was at a party, her mood had been ruined.

So, even though alcohol had little to no effect on her, she gravitated towards the bar. Well, as long as it wasn't solid food, she could take it. Reina still had bad memories from when her body had spectacularly forced an ejection of solid food after the first time she had attempted to eat something the human way.

She would have made it there without any incident too, but for a certain collision.

"Ouch!"

~*~*~

Sayumi was beginning to feel slightly more than a little buzzed by now. Copious amounts of alcoholic substances did the trick, even if her tolerance for the stuff ran higher than normal. You just had to overload it by piling even more on top of it.

Eri had fallen asleep by now, or would that be passed out? While Risa had been mumbling to herself the whole time, as if conducting a persistent conversation with some imaginary friend or other, and Sayu still trying to drown herself in alcohol for reasons unknown to herself.

Deciding that her two friends could take care of themselves for the moment, Sayumi lurched from her seat and wobbled to the nearest bathroom. Or at least, planned to get there. She was rather rudely interrupted by someone barging into her, making her grunt in pain and shake off the worst effects of the alcohol.

"Owie..." She moaned in pain, her head ringing weirdly, partly from the alcohol, and partly from her sixth sense. Then again, she wasn't sure about the latter, since the alcohol probably helped to throw her off balance more than just a little. Opening one eye, she peeked at the person who had set off her personal alarm...

...and was surprised to see a much smaller sized girl scowling at her. A small, extremely _cute_ girl. Sayu squealed randomly and threw her arms around the stranger without really thinking about it, and that strange trill of alarm ran through her fuddled senses again.

Alright, so maybe she was a little more drunk than she thought she was.

"Kawaii~" Sayu squealed again, and squeezed more tightly. Dimly, she had a feeling that she should have been more wary of doing something like this, but she was too buzzed to process it properly right now. She would think about it at a later date. Right now she was too busy trying to choke the life out of the person she was pretty close to hugging to death.

Of course, that only applied if that person was not already dead, in any case.

~*~*~

Reina froze when the quite obviously tipsy girl latched onto her like she was a fluffy teddy bear. If Reina had needed to breathe, she would be choking by now, but since she didn't exactly need to, all she felt was a great sense of irritation once the initial shock wore off.

"Leggo!" Reina growled under her breath, the words coming out in a single garbled stream. "Geroff me!"

Right at this moment Reina devoutly wished that she didn't have so many witnesses present, because she would have dearly loved to rip this annoying girl's arms off for getting so friendly with her. Reina needed her personal space, and this person seemed hellbent on invading it at the moment.

Not to mention how this person smelled odd too. It was probably just the alcohol; but Reina couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something _else_ mixed in too. Reina blinked, her thoughts interrupted when that strange girl tried to kiss her for no apparent reason.

"Oi! Stop it!" She fended off the assault of physical affection, panicking slightly and shoving with a little more force than should be used on a human. That resulted in a nasty fall, and Reina stared blankly when the taller girl burst into tears on cue.

_What the hell?! _Reina was torn between wanting to help the girl up and get her to stop crying, or just knocking her out to save herself from further trouble. The latter was a far more tempting option at the moment though. Sometimes the young vampire couldn't help but think that unlife was definitely making her a lot less sociable.

A mere whisper of a chuckle, barely there and so faint that she almost thought she was just imagining it, made her whip around instantly, her hackles raised and fangs half bared. She could feel someone _watching_ her, as opposed to the few people who were merely looking in her direction. She was definitely being observed by someone, or something.

_Where! Where is it!_ Reina growled, eyes shining with a feral gleam as she grew more frustrated, completely ignoring the girl by her feet.

Then she felt it, a surging rush of energy, an overwhelming _presence_ that made her knees buckle simply by making itself known to her. Gritting her teeth stubbornly together, Reina set her shoulders and pushed back with her own aura.

To any onlookers, it would have appeared as if Reina was just frozen in place, an intense frown of concentration on her face. There would be no further outward sign of such a purely supernatural battle of wills.

Reina scowled even harder, since she could just _feel_ the other entity smiling condescendingly at her, even though she was pushing back with all her might. It annoyed her to no end, being taken so lightly. Unthinkingly, her fangs had sunk into her lower lip as she unconsciously bit down, her body starting to shake under the strain.

**Don't be so stubborn, child.** A sourceless voice seemed to echo in her mind, and Reina, out of habit, threw an insulting retort right back with her mental voice, coupled with swear words and rude gestures she made up on the spot. She could almost feel the other entity sigh, and the hint of gentle amusement in it.

**Very well. Look then, and know your place.** Reina found her head snapping upwards, as if beyond her own control, and her vision seemed to zoom in on its own accord to meet eye to eye with the master vampire that had been toying with her.

She began to tremble, just a little at first, before it became more pronounced, and she stumbled backwards, sweating profusely as, for the first time in 10 years, she felt true terror grip her heart. _So strong...so much power..._ The barest of squeaks wavered from her throat, and she fell backwards on her butt, eyes wide.

**Now do you understand? Go now, and leave me be.** That voice, sounding both youthful and ancient at the same time, was edged with a timeless regret bordering on a sadness so total, it was almost beautiful. It seemed very tired, and almost resigned. Reina found herself staring, uncomprehendingly, as the same gaze that had terrified her so much appeared to draw her in, despite her fear.

_So frightening, so powerful, so......beautiful._ These thoughts came unbidden to the young vampire, and tears ran red from her eyes. She did not understand why, only that it was beyond her ability to ignore, or even look away.

Reina did not know how she managed it, but her body appeared to be following the commands of an unknown power as she somehow stumbled out of that place, driven as if by the force of that voice that had ordered her to leave. She did not know how long she spent in that state, half dreaming and half awake, stumbling like some restless ghoul along the street.

When she finally regained her senses, she was practically halfway across town. Sinking to her knees, staring up at the full moon above, Reina wept again, not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy. She had finally found something worth chasing after.

_I won't give up. I won't let you scare me away. Just you wait._

She swore this to the night, the same bullheaded determination that drove her every action rearing its head within her again. She stood, clenching her fist so tightly it almost drew blood from her palm as her nails dug in, her irises bleeding to an unholy crimson in the faint light.

_Just you wait._


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the girls. How many times must I repeat that? Although I think it's fun trying to come up with different ways to say it. Ok, I'm weird. :D

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**Chapter 3**

"Ooooh..." A suffering groan came from one of two lumps in the room. A messy head poked out from under one of the covers, wincing at the blast of sunshine that greeted her bloodshot eyes, and immediately withdrew with a strangled shriek. Sunlight was bad! Bad!

"Sayu? Are you finally awake?" An annoyingly chipper voice called from just outside the door, and Risa poked her head in, nudging the door open with her shoulder as she came in with two glasses of water and a bottle of aspirin.

Sayumi muttered something unintelligible from under her blanket cocoon, scrunching into a tiny ball and pulling the cloth further into herself. Risa chuckled, setting down the tray on her table, before taking one of the glasses and a couple of tablets to kneel by the Sayumi-shaped lump of blankets.

"Sayumin, I know you have a terrible hangover and the room probably looks like it's spinning to you right now, but you need to drink some water." Risa coaxed gently. "It'll make you feel better, I promise." She tentatively shook what she gauged was Sayumi's shoulder, trying to get a response from her.

"Mmprgh...Gaki-san I hate you!" Sayumi slurred from underneath the covers, jerking away from her senior. Risa blinked, confused. "What?"

"Why are you so bloody CHEERFUL in the blasted _morning_?!" A very displeased Sayumi poked her head out with a growl, her eyes reduced to mere slits to guard against the glare of sunshine. Risa couldn't help but laugh at the disgruntled look on Sayumi's face.

"Serves you right for binging on drinks the way you did yesterday." Risa said disapprovingly. "At least I knew to stop after I started feeling dizzy."

Sayumi grunted and blindly took the offered water and tablets, gulping the latter down before chugging the rest of the water. "Ugh. Don't remind me." She rubbed at her bloodshot eyes. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"Stop you? I had my hands full with Eri." Risa looked over at the prone form on the other side of the room. The turtle girl had not stirred since they had dumped her in the corner last night. "Will she be alright?"

Sayumi crawled over, carefully lifting part of the blankets from Eri and smoothing back the messy fringe from her best friend's eyes. With the practiced ease of someone who has been doing it for at least half her life, she peeled back one of Eri's eyelids and took a quick look before tenderly placing the covers back over the sleeping girl. Eri had not so much as twitched during the examination, and only snuffled a little after Sayumi moved away carefully.

"She's alright, knocked out as usual." Sayu appeared to be mostly back to normal as the effects of the aspirin started to make itself felt. She massaged her temples and leaned back on the pile of blankets that had been covering her earlier.

"Augh. Why did I drink so much?" She groused. "I don't even remember what happened last night."

"I don't really remember either, but that might be a blessing in disguise." Risa commented, flopping down next to the youngest of the trio. "Should we wake Eri up for some water and aspirin too?"

"Nah." Sayumi said after a moment's thought. "Let her sleep it off. She'll be fine after, oh, 14 hours of sleep." She laughed wryly. "Just have a pitcher of water ready for when she does wake up though." Risa grinned back and nodded, trusting the younger girl's judgment. After all, Sayumi had known Eri for far longer than she had.

The pair sat in companionable silence for a minute or so, Risa relaxing in the lazy atmosphere while Sayumi was just battling her persistent headache. After she had forced the worst of the pain down, the younger turned to Risa.

"So how did we get back here?" She looked around. "Where _is_ here?"

"My house." Risa grinned sheepishly. "I called my parents for help since I couldn't lug both of you at the same time. And I didn't think that either of your parents would be thrilled to see you guys in this state."

Sayumi stared at her for a moment, then snickered. "Eririn's parents might have flipped out, but obviously you've never met _my_ family." She paused, thinking, before she shuddered. "On second thoughts, it's a good thing you _didn't_ tell them." She closed her eyes. "I don't enjoy being dipped headfirst into a vat of cold water."

Now it was Risa's turn to stare. "Say WHAT?!" Sayumi grinned mischievously, opening one eye.

"I come by my peculiarities honestly, Gaki-san~" Sayu cooed as she grabbed at Risa's cheeks and pulled hard again, forcing an unnatural smile to appear on Risa's face. The older sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I should have just left you with the headache, you were quieter with it..."

"Aww but you love me~"

"Keep on doing that and I _will_ change my mind about that."

~*~*~

A heavy oak-paneled door swung ponderously shut, cutting off sterile white walls from the warmer interior of the room it guarded. There was a barely audible click as the door closed with surprising gentleness, and soft soled shoes ghosted across the mat, pausing by the shoe cupboard as small hands removed her footwear and deposited them within the built in closet that melded almost seamlessly with the wall.

Bare feet now crossed a highly polished floor, the grained pattern of seasoned wood matching with the muted wallpaper on either side of the narrow corridor that opened into a wider room, sparsely but tastefully furnished with a mix of old and new; the traditional homey air that resembled something out of a 17th century European manor harboring 21st century technology and amenities.

It was to that corner that the person padded towards, a darkened screen blinking to life with a move of the mouse, and the tiny owner of the apartment pulled out the chair for herself before ignoring it totally and moving over to the closed and blinded window next to her work station. A single light touch opened the blinds up a fraction, sending rays of piercing sunshine into the previously darkened room.

She blinked at the bright glare, her eyes adjusting in an instant to the influx of light into her domain. The peculiar thing about night vision was that it carried over to the day as well. Shadows had never been quite the same ever since, so it kinda screwed with her depth perception at times.

Turning, she squinted through the shadows created by the light, once again amused by how she could just see through them as if they were not there to begin with.

Settling back into the easy chair in front of her computer, Seirei smiled as the warm sunshine fell on her at regular intervals; segregated, naturally, by the blinds in the way.

She had always been a peculiar example of her...species? Not only did she have no fear of the day, she rather enjoyed the sun as well --- in controlled doses, of course. She still didn't tan very well, and sunburn still hurt her as it would any ordinary human.

Her lips twitched into an involuntary smile as she speedily checked her email, widening into a heartfelt one as she clicked on one of the new messages she had received in her absence.

The convenient thing about the 21st century and all its technological gimmicks was that it enabled her to keep in contact with the one person that mattered to her for the last half eon or so. Pure white teeth flashed in an even, gleaming row as she grinned at the message, complete with pictures and amusing anecdotes, from her child who was at present about halfway across the globe from her, and was having a lot of fun making things and people explode, as it were.

There was another mail, with the heading _To DJ Seirei_, and she couldn't help but smile a little more at her own little joke. The name was highly ironic, considering her circumstances. For she was neither alive, divine, nor devoted to authority, in all readings of the name.

Naturally, it was as much an alias as the many identities she had assumed over the countless centuries. At present though, considering she was in Japan, her current identity had had to have a regular Japanese-sounding name too. As luck would have it, it hadn't been too difficult to use a variant of her _true_ name for her current alias. These little consistencies helped keep her sane in an ever changing world.

Immortality was a difficult burden to bear, after all.

_Takahashi Ai, yes, that's my name now._ And so it had been for the last 2 to 3 years. With a little luck she would be able to keep this particular identity for another 10 to 15 years or so before having to move on. A perpetually youthful appearance had both pros and cons to it, unfortunately.

Ai tapped thoughtfully on the table as she went through her mail and checked the web for news, scanning with inhuman speed through the pages. One of the upsides of her _condition_, as she liked to put it. She rather enjoyed making quirky little jokes about her immortality that would not be obvious to the average human, and amused herself thus. It was a little lame at times, but every little bit helped.

Laughter helped her put herself into perspective. Without a sense of humor, she would possibly have gone mad a thousand years ago.

The days were always so long, but Ai had since found a way to deal with it. She had to, because if madness hadn't gotten her, boredom would have. Reading was always a nice way to pass the time, and she liked to keep up on news happening around the world. It paid to be up to date with current affairs, even if she were no longer human. At least she always knew where else she could relocate to in a hurry should the need ever arise.

Despite being a vampire, Ai was basically as non-violent as conditions would allow. She had not killed a single normal human being for decades, the last time being that unfortunate incident up in the old Soviet Union when she had been rather rudely awakened from a 20 year nap.

Ai was a reasonable creature when awake, less so when still groggy and in the grip of her bestial instincts. It had been a bloodbath of spectacular proportions, she recalled, and found herself licking her lips at the memory.

_**What**__ was she thinking?!_ Slightly aghast by her own behavior, she snapped her jaws shut and pushed up and away from her seat, stalking quickly over to her secret stash, her fingers working out the unlocking sequence to the hidden safe. She reached in and grabbed a bottle, slamming the safe shut and relocking it before sweeping past the counter and grabbing a goblet, pouring the red liquid into it before lifting it to her lips.

The rich taste calmed her, as did the hint of expensive scotch mixed into her favorite beverage. Her _only_ source of nourishment now, considering her current status. Retiring to a chair by another window, she placed the bottle on the little round table next to her, but not before refilling her goblet again.

Ai sipped distantly, her mind, as always, starting to wander. She had an iron grip on her bloodlust, so much so that she had not fed directly from a living human ever since that unfortunate incident on the killing fields of Crimea. She had other ways of procuring fresh blood as and when she needed it, and then again she never needed as much blood nowadays.

One of the benefits of advanced age, she conceded wryly. As long as she wasn't gravely injured, she didn't need as much fresh blood to sustain and regenerate herself.

The modern world could be tiring to keep up with, but it _did_ have many fascinating developments in the area of human knowledge. Even though some of those developments made it awfully difficult to get away with certain things the way she could in less advanced eras. Law enforcement was far more efficient nowadays than it was about a hundred or so years ago, and making up identities was conversely both more and less easy at the same time.

_Technology..._ Ai noted philosophically as she cast her eye on her still active Mac computer in the corner. She had had the foresight of enrolling for classes back when the computer was still a mass of metal and plastic, with cables the size of her arm and occupying a rather large room in its entirety.

Now the average computer was present almost everywhere, and was much smaller and faster than its lumbering behemoth of a predecessor. Ai sighed and finished up the last of her blood wine.

_The world is changing so fast... _She mused as she got up to rinse out her goblet, replacing the items where they belonged. She could only hope to keep up with the times, or risk being left behind as a mere anachronism of a bygone era and destroyed, as so many other things had been.

_Maybe I should go back for classes. I haven't gone to school in a while..._ Ai considered that as she settled back in front of her terminal. Her mind swung from one subject to another as she clicked on the latest news for the city she was currently living in, frowning at one of the headlines.

**Multiple Missing, Police Investigate.** Involuntarily, she recalled that young upstart she met the night before. Cocky and confident, that much she had sensed from the fledgling. She had smelled the blood on the wind earlier that evening, and had no illusions about what had occurred. The missing people would not be found, she concluded. Not alive, anyway.

She could only hope that the kid had had the foresight of disposing of the bodies carefully. Dry corpses tended to draw too much unnecessary attention from all the wrong places. Ai was not afraid of the police though. She knew all the loopholes in most criminal codes, no thanks to a short stint as a law aide 2 identities ago. And she had also been a forensics investigator in yet another lifetime, so she knew exactly how to avoid detection.

No, she was concerned about the hunters. Ai did not particularly like tangling with them, even if she knew she could handle the situation most of the time. She understood their zeal to exterminate non-human creatures that threatened mankind, and supported it to some degree. It made her life easier if they helped to get rid of the troublesome low-level trash. It saved her the trouble of doing it herself.

For an Ancient like her, peace and stability were greatly valued. It was easier on her nerves. Young upstarts that wanted only to revel in blood and violence threatened that stability, and she had no wish to see the world ripped apart by a war between her kind and the humans. Humans slaughtered each other well enough on the slightest pretext; she didn't need her food source decimated in the senseless conflict that would surely result from her kind's exposure.

It was to avoid the hunters that she had relocated to this small city. It had a very low level of supernatural energy, and an insignificant population of non-humans mingled with the humans. Ai had chosen this place since it was less likely that the hunters would come to a place where there was little to no supernatural trouble. Peace and quiet was so very important to her, and she would be _really_ upset if someone disturbed that balance.

She frowned at the screen again, minimizing the window as she stood, pacing around for a bit, thinking. This young upstart could be a problem. Briefly, she considered eliminating her before the hunters noticed anything strange and decided to investigate.

However, Ai was practical, not cruel. She could be ruthless when the situation called for it, but she would not destroy another needlessly. She had sensed the child's movements in the city from time to time, and despite the lack of finesse in hiding her aura, the fledgling wasn't _completely_ incompetent. Rough around the edges and way too cocky and impudent for her own good perhaps, but not a mindless creature. Probably desperately in need of guidance, but Ai had no interest in a baby vampire. The young one would learn in time, on its own; or perish just as many other unnamed fledglings had in the course of time.

With a sigh, she pulled up the blinds by the window, letting the sunlight filter in, unfettered. It washed over her pale, immortal, _undead_ form, and she could almost feel warm in the sun's embrace. Almost.

She did not breathe, her heart did not beat, and she could barely feel any compassion anymore. What little humanity she had left, save for this unaging shell. Yet she was human once, a long time ago, and the sun felt good on her skin, banishing the darkness from her.

Shaking her head, she retreated from the window, back into the cool shadows. She could not let the past entrap her, however much she clung on to it. It grounded her, but it could also swallow her whole. Grimly, she stared off into the distance, thinking of the young one she had encountered, wondering how much the child knew of the burdens of eternity.

_We learn, or we die._ Someone had told her that, once, at a time when the world was still young and fresh as she herself once was. _We adapt, even if we do not change._

For the other way lies madness, and destruction. She closed her eyes, trying _not_ to think.

As always, the world spun on, it always has done. And always will.

_For even as civilizations rise and empires fall, the world goes on. _

_Time goes on, and We remain, insignificant spectators to its march._


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Hi-ho! I own nothing-no. Just the story ya-ho~ :D

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* * *

Chapter 4**

The dead sleep.

In mortuaries and graveyards, they sleep. In the rest from which there is no waking, they sleep.

In the bright sun, light cavorting overhead, they sleep. They do not wake. They aren't supposed to. The day belongs to the living.

The dead sleep. What was it like to sleep like the dead?

One doesn't find out until they are dead. By then, it no longer matters, save to some. It doesn't matter.

She knows what it is like to sleep like the dead. After all, you have to be dead to try it.

And she is, after all, dead. Not dead and not alive. The twilight in between.

She sleeps like the dead. In the day, a corpse in its own right. And by night?

The dead no longer sleep. Not all of them. No longer.

Not anymore.

~*~*~

"How is it that, less than 3 hours ago, you were still all washed out from last night, but now you're perfectly fine?" A voice asked in exasperation, before taking a sip from her drink. The gaudy plastic cup in her hand stood out starkly against the rest of her, all tacky decoration and childish art. It was loud, obnoxiously so. So glaringly strange against her more muted, conservative getup.

Then again, this _was_ an amusement park, or what was left of one. What a pair of college age girls were doing in a rundown entertainment center decades past its time was beyond anyone's guess, at least at a casual glance.

Or perhaps not. There were always other teens, up to their own activities that were less than sanctioned by parental authority; here and there street urchins peeked out from behind worn out tires and rusted barrels, chains clinking as overfed rats scrabbled over them, playing their own games amidst the bright fluorescent and glowing neon.

"I recover fast, my dear dear friend." The one dressed in a combination of pink, white and black flashed a peace sign alongside that megawatt smile that easily beat out the worn old bulbs struggling to maintain their luminescence in spite of their advancing age. Others had long since given up the battle, appearing a dull, dusty red or green or blue, bereft of illumination.

"Whatever you say, Sayu." The other sighed, looking around the tired old amusement park. The place looked like it had been there for _decades_, practically rooted to the greens it stood upon. One could not think of these fairgrounds without linking it to this place. It was as if one was synonymous with the other by now.

_Inseparable._ She knew what that thought triggered, but glanced around involuntarily all the same. One missing from the merry trio. The three musketeers. The...whatever other trio that was out there. Not here.

And it was...strange. She shook her head, continuing to take in her surroundings. It looked more...dilapidated, somehow, even more so in the receding glow of daylight. She had been here before, some years back, at night, and it had looked..._different_. Perhaps it was the night that hid the ruin, the rust and decay from young, energetic eyes eager for the bright lights and fun rides.

A sneaky move to intercept the fat straw of her drink jolted her out of her thoughts. Reflexively, she jerked away, leaving a pouting Sayumi grasping air with her pursed lips.

"Why so serious, Gaki-san?" Sayumi grinned impudently at the somber non-expression that the other had just sported seconds ago, which was now a mask of disapproval directed at the younger. "Let's put a smile on that face~"

"You're almost 20, Sayu. Grow up a little." Risa sighed as her face was once again unnaturally stretched out, courtesy of Sayumi's hands pulling at her cheeks. Briefly, she wondered why she ever told them about how she felt no pain when her cheeks were pinched. It was like _giving_ them the license to pinch it whenever possible, just to try and elicit a reaction (in Sayumi's case), or just marvel at it (Eri).

"And did you just quote someone...?" Risa raised an eyebrow as the younger released her, still cackling in childish glee. The self proclaimed ichiban kawaii cocked her head to the side, arm still linked with the older girl's as she replied.

"Why, don't you ever read DC comics?" She tapped her chin. "Oh yeah, I forgot that you like Crayon Shin-chan instead~"

Risa flushed, mentally cursing Eri for uncovering her secret stash of old manga under her bed. She just _knew_ that the devil next to her wouldn't just let her off so easily after finding out about something like that.

Lights danced in Sayumi's dark eyes, twin orbs rolling around with lively energy and sly anticipation. Risa, anxious to cut off the teasing before it really started, quickly started on another thread of conversation, hoping to divert the attention off herself.

"Why are we here again? You said something about Kame being here, but you never said _why_." To tell the truth, that was something Risa was definitely curious about. There were still so many things she didn't know about Eri, who was arguably her closest friend at the university.

Granted, they hadn't known other for as long as Sayu and Eri had (_Since forever!_ Sayumi had piped up when asked for the first time). Even this city itself was still relatively new to her, having just moved in here only 2 years ago. Her little family unit moved around a lot, since her father often traveled for work, and tended to bring them along whenever there was a change in his base of operations. As a result, she had never really stayed in a place longer than 3 or 4 years at most.

Sometimes she wondered if having a permanent place to call home would be nicer. Better than a semi-nomadic existence, certainly.

"Ah ah ah~ You're woolgathering again, Gaki-saaaaaaaaan~" Sayumi tugged at Risa's sleeve, trying to get her attention. Risa smiled weakly.

"Sorry, I think I didn't get enough sleep from last night. It's starting to kick in..." She apologized sheepishly, tugging at the strands of her long hair. Sayumi patted her arm sympathetically, seeming to settle into a less hyper mode. Risa was always amazed by how easily the younger girl shifted between her moods. It was as if there had been no difference between how she was acting before and after, even if the gulf had been so very wide.

"Eririn's mom works here, and she wanted Eri to come here today. That's why she bolted so fast earlier." Sayumi said easily with the familiarity of an old friend. Risa couldn't help but feel a twitch of envy at how easily the knowledge came to the younger girl. She wondered how long it would take for her to achieve the same level of awareness, assuming she could stay long enough to.

Shaking the minute melancholy away, Risa smiled faintly as she glanced around again. "And what would she be doing here?" Somehow, she couldn't quite imagine Eri's mother working as a attendant for any of the rides. Maybe manning some of the booths? She was still pondering the possibilities as Sayumi replied.

"Oh, she runs one of the attractions." The younger girl smiled mysteriously, lips quirking strangely with some hidden joke. "You'll see."

"Mou, tell me!" Risa pouted, nudging Sayumi playfully in the side, but her junior laughingly avoided all attempts to weasel the truth out of her. They were still horsing around randomly until Sayumi suddenly blurted.

"And here we are!"

Risa stopped. Looked. And just stared, struck speechless.

Sayumi giggled at her stunned senpai, tugging at her arm to drag her in.

"Time to get our fortunes told~"

~*~*~

Sunset.

A pair of eyes popped open, burning a fiery red. They pierced the musty darkness, an unearthy glow pushing back the creeping shadows. They blinked, and the glow subsided. The darkness returned, or remained, but it was no impediment to the sole occupant of the cellar. There was _no_ darkness for a vampire.

The abrupt shift from the death-sleep to consciousness was jarring as always, and she continued to stare, unblinkingly, at the faint tracery of brick underneath peeling paint. Noted the crumbling mortar, the flecks of dust and sand floating suspended in still air.

The scent of water, not so far away. Caked dirt, dried lizard droppings. Water lapping against cold stone, ebb and flow, splashing. An industrious spider, playing the trapeze artist. She exhaled. Watched the dust stir, air moist against dead flesh. Not cold. Not hot either. Temperature no longer bore meaning for her.

It was always thus, upon waking. Connecting back to reality, the mind having to realize, night after night, that it is _not_ dead. Her own body, stone cold and stiff with the touch of death. Rigor mortis, was it?

No matter. She turned inward, reasserting control over her body. Commanded a finger to move. After a moment's hesitation, it did.

It relieved her. It was a continual worry that one day, she would find that her undead body would no longer respond to her conscious mind. That the whole experience had been some freaky out-of-body incident. Except that she was never _out_ of it. Not literally, anyway.

She sat up, flexing her fingers, rotated her head on her neck. A smile, as she realized what had been missing for a while.

_No rats._ Not since the first few nights since she had taken up residence in here. Rats might not be rocket geniuses, but they were pretty good at survival. Sharing a space with a bloodsucking predator was hardly conducive towards their little rodent lives, and the resident rat population had vacated the area in record time after the change in tenancy.

She sat still for a long minute, silent as the grave, registering everything around her through her enhanced senses. Waited, too, for the last dregs of sunlight to be completely gone. She had no desire to be caught in the sun, even for a few seconds. Sunburns were bad enough when she was human; it was lethal as a vampire.

When she did move, sliding off moldering crates that had been serving as a bed of sorts, there was nary a creak, nor even a whisper of dust on dust. It was fluid, sinuous, _inhuman_. The spider swung the _other_ way, disappearing through a crack. No living creature with any sense would linger in the company of a predator unveiled.

Unmoving, she could almost pass as one more shadow in that abandoned cellar. Here was the true face of the hunter, not so much cloaked in shadow as being one with it. The silent predator, ready to strike. The aura of danger hung heavy in the air. Even the roaches scrambled away, eager to escape.

She shifted, dampening her movements, her vampiric presence, and became..._Reina_ again. Almost.

No longer human, merely pretending to be one. If it were the wolf in sheep's clothing that had to be feared, what of one draped in human skin?

_I am the wolf in shepherd's clothing._ Her grin was pointed. _And tonight, I hunt bigger game._

Tonight, the sheep could sleep well until dawn returned as their shield. Tonight, Reina had other plans.

_Time to get busy._

~*~*~

"...we have Tarot, crystal ball and tea leaf readings. Which system would you prefer?" A warmly cheery voice chirped on, only to be greeted with that same disbelieving silence that had remained so ever since the pair had been seated.

"Psst. Say something!" Another low voice hissed, punctuated by a harsh poke in the arm. Risa jumped, finally getting with the program.

"Um..." Was all she could think of saying, which wasn't very productive at all, unfortunately. Next to her, Sayumi rolled her eyes upward and sighed theatrically.

"Oh dear lord, why are you so shy around other people? You do a perfectly fine job of being loud when it was just _us_." Sayumi waved her hand around, before her finger finally settled on the benign-looking lady seated across from them at the table.

"It's just Eri's _mother_, for god's sake. Not some creepy stranger trying to sell you life insurance or cheat you of your life savings. I hope you don't mind, obaa-san." She addressed the woman, now revealed as Eri's mother. "Gaki-san's mind just crashed, it probably just has to reboot now."

"Do you think we have to reformat it too?" Another voice cut in, also obviously amused. Sayumi grinned proudly at her best friend, who was standing behind her mother.

"Finally! A joke that makes sense! I'm so proud of you, Eririn~" The devil girl shared a mutual grin with the older woman seated across from her as Eri pouted.

"My jokes make sense!" Warm laughter reverberated around the little pavilion.

"Eri, I gave birth to you, and I know you best. Few of your jokes ever make sense." The woman smiled. "We just find it funny because we love you."

"Mom!" Sayumi smirked and gave two thumbs up to Eri's mother, who winked back in response, before adding. "I'm sure your friends agree." Her penetrating gaze swept over the still catatonic Risa and gleeful Sayu. "And as friends to my beloved baby, I would like you to call me Yuriko. _Obaa-san_ makes me feel old."

"I'm not a baby!" Eri pouted again, and this time Risa recovered enough to join in the teasing.

"You're not acting like you're not." Risa jabbed playfully, regaining enough of her mental faculties to find it in herself to taunt everyone's favorite turtle. Eri frowned at the sentence, puzzling her way through it, even as Sayu mock-winced.

"Oooh, too many negatives~" She dramatically made signs to ward off evil. "Away with you, sentence-mutilating creature!"

It was to Risa's credit that she was able to appear completely composed as she commented, looking right at Yuriko, who was smiling at the children's antics.

"It's awfully difficult to babysit both of them, isn't it?" Risa said conversationally to the older woman, whose smile grew wider.

"Oh, you should have seen them as children. Absolute _terrors_, both of them. Lovable little rascals." Yuriko recounted fondly, even as both Eri and Sayumi paused to stare at the exchange, temporarily unable to think of anything meaningful to say.

"I'm sorry to have missed it then." Risa noted with genuine regret. Yuriko reached over the table and patted her hand comfortingly.

"Don't worry, there are always the photos." Amazingly, neither had cracked so much as a smile yet. Meanwhile, the pair being discussed at the moment paled, mortified by the turn of the conversation.

"Mom!" and "Yuriko-obaasan!" rang out at the exact same time, horrified expressions covering both girls' face. Risa snickered. "Gotcha."

Eri turned puppy eyes at Risa. "You wouldn't really do that to us, would you?"

"Depends." Risa quickly avoided _that_ deadly gaze. The Gorgon only turned people to stone. Eri's puppy eyes turned them to liquid mush. Risa much preferred her brains intact and functioning, thank you very much.

Yuriko chuckled again, clapping her hands and rubbing them together in anticipation. "Well now girls, I believe we were interrupted from a fortune reading." She paused, looking at Risa. "Risa-chan, was it? Would you still like a reading?"

"Um." Risa got stuck again, wanting to find the right words to phrase the burning question in her mind, so as not to offend her friend's mother. "Well, that is..."

"You don't believe in things like this, do you?" Yuriko said knowingly, and Risa flushed, caught out. Yuriko smiled, putting away her 'tools' and clearing the area between her and the girls.

"I don't blame you. Mysticism doesn't have much of a place in the modern world. It's all just brushed off as superstitious nonsense now." The lady, her middle years now showing in the subtle tracery of wrinkles as she smiled, a note of sadness coloring her words.

"I believe you though, Yuriko-obaasan." Sayumi said firmly, no jest in _her_ tone. Yuriko smiled warmly at the youngest of the trio.

"Of course _you_ would." There was an impish grin edging those thin lips. Sayu grinned back, eyes alight again with that rolling spark of poorly concealed amusement. Eri was giggling as well. Risa couldn't help but feel like she was missing out on something.

"You should let her try though, Gaki-san. She's not a fake." Sayumi turned to Risa earnestly. "Besides, it's not like it's going to cost you anything. Right, Yuriko-obaasan?"

"Oh I wouldn't know, times are too hard for me to work for free..." Sayu looked mildly ashamed of herself, at least until she noticed the jovial twinkle in Yuriko's eye. Eri, who already knew what her mother would do, was already sniggering behind her hands.

"I was just joking, my dear. Anyone who takes care of my little Eri deserves a free reading should they wish it." Yuriko's eyes shone with an intensity that had unnerved Risa ever since she first stepped in. Clear eyes, with hidden depths. Risa wondered what the woman really saw.

"Besides, I believe I still owe you for chaperoning Eri from the party last night." An immediate silence followed these words, and the trio passed startled glances among each other. Eri shook her head vigorously from behind her mother, waving her hands frantically to mean that _she_ hadn't said anything.

"I told you I can see these things." Yuriko, completely unruffled, still maintaining that kindly maternal exterior, helped to put Risa at ease, even though the girl still felt a prickling to her instincts.

Sayu flicked a quick look at Risa, who caught it reflexively. _You can trust her_, those eyes said. Wordless communication between her and Sayu wasn't the best, but the universal sisterhood of all women generally made it slightly easier to read these things. She relaxed, calming herself.

"Um, ok." Her voice did not reflect her enforced calm, the lack of certainty showing in her wavering agreement. Yuriko smiled kindly at her, though her eyes never lost that piercing quality that appeared to look straight into her soul.

Despite herself, Risa trembled. Did she really want to know what lay ahead for her?

"Do I need to, um, pick anything?" Risa asked, blinking rapidly to get some moisture into her widened eyes. Yuriko shook her head.

"No, all that's just for amateurs to play with. It's just for show." She smiled ironically. "People these days need a more visual statement for the workings of destiny."

"It's probably television's fault." Sayumi noted clinically, and she shared a look of understanding with Yuriko. Eri stood silent, watching quietly while one hand toyed with the chains of the pendant hidden underneath her clothes. Her eyes had taken on the same fathomless depths that Risa had rarely seen in her usually goofy friend.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ She smiled nervously, feet shifting underneath the table to hide her growing unease.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." The voice was soothing, and Risa exhaled, trying to release the tension from her muscles. Next to her, Sayumi gave her a comforting squeeze on the arm, before moving away, careful to make no physical contact with her.

"Now, give me your hand, and we can get started." Risa gulped, and reached out slowly. Her breathing became shallow, before she remembered enough of her father's teachings to fall back on a deeper, meditative kind of breathing. Oddly, that was all she really needed.

Her mind cleared, and when she spoke, she had no conscious memory of manipulating her lips to form the words.

"I'm ready."


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own the bouncer, the bartender, and Eri's mom. :D That's all.

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Chapter 5**

The windchimes at the entrance clinked as the door was slammed open with excessive force, the silvery tinkle drawing at most a couple of raised eyebrows and furtive glances, but the majority of the patrons otherwise ignored it.

Eyes the color of fine wine absorbed the scene laid out before them, studying the motley crew lounging around low tables, an odd assortment of the well-heeled and a tougher crowd. It had a subtle undercurrent of calm here, this place. Quiet conversation appeared to be the standard, with a couple of discreet and civilized looking poker games taking place in the shadowy booths on the far side.

The last fact might not have been obvious to the average observer from the vantage point at the entrance, but this was no ordinary person. Or really, a _person_ at all.

Reina clucked her tongue impatiently as she shoved past the bouncer at the entrance. Well, attempted to. The man was about as yielding as a stone wall. Granted, Reina wasn't using all of her strength, which would have been more than enough for any stone wall, but she couldn't very well flaunt her vampiric nature out in _public_.

It was the first rule that had been stuck in her head when she had first awoken to her new state of existence. She could grudgingly see the point of such a rule, especially after her own run in with those over-enthusiastic vampire hunters, but it could be so bloody inconvenient at times. Growling, she checked herself and scowled up at the much, _much_ taller bouncer in her way.

"Got any ID, kid?" A nervous tic throbbed heavily on Reina's face, her off center eyes crossing even more violently at the blocky man who was currently eying her suspiciously. Reina scowled at him, grudgingly taking her old driving license and holding it out at him. The man squinted at the faded picture and then up at her.

"What?" Reina grumbled discontentedly, not really wanting to pick a fight no matter what her instincts said. This place was supposed to be a neutral spot for people on both sides of the law, and if Reina's senses were leading her right, for things beyond the regular world as well. Such as herself, she thought ironically.

"You sure you're 28?" The bouncer didn't look very convinced. Reina sighed.

"Look buddy, it's rude to ask a girl's age. And to your question, yes, that _is_ my age. I just look young!" Reina jabbed a finger insistently at his rock hard chest, hard enough to leave a bruise. The man gave her another quick look, then nodded slowly, his eyes gaining a modicum of understanding as he stood aside. Reina swiped her card back and stalked in, looking around as if to dare anyone to comment on what just happened. No one even bothered to glance in her direction, much less acknowledge her presence. Reina just shrugged and moved on.

_Odd place, but the last guy I terrorized said that the info came from here..._ Slouching over to the bar, she flopped down in the nearest available seat, next to an emo-goth poet wannabe dressed mostly in black. On her left, two seats away, a heavily tattooed man glanced in her direction as she shifted around on the stool, the runic prints on his skin standing out starkly even in the dim light. When she returned the gaze, he turned away almost in slow motion, but the rest of him was already shifting sinuously off his seat and moving at least 5 more places away from her.

Smirking triumphantly, Reina turned back to look up at the ominously tall bartender standing ramrod straight behind the counter. Slender, wrinkled hands polished a glass with a cloth, and grey, almost colorless, eyes regarded her with a neutral expression. Reina couldn't quite shake the feeling that the man belonged more inside a mansion as a butler than as a bartender in a place like this. Particularly a very specific mansion with even more specific duties. He certainly _looked_ like it.

"May I get you something?" The voice was polite and unassuming, just on this side of bored but respectful enough not to show it. There was no mistaking the caution in that weary old voice, even though it was mostly masked as a natural reticence. Reina grunted, sensing his mild unease as he put down one glass and picked up another to clean.

"Er..." Reina was about to refuse, given her stomach with regards to human food, but somehow felt bad about turning the kindly old man down. She hadn't felt quite so obliging, not ever since she was turned. Besides, she reasoned, it wouldn't hurt to order a drink just to justify her presence here instead of her usual threatening-for-information method. Perhaps a little subtlety was in order for this place, she decided.

"Well I want a drink..." Reina started, unsure of what to choose at first. Alfred, as she had christened him in her head, nodded sagely.

"Might I suggest a Bloody Mary? We have a special variant for you that you might enjoy." Reina raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't object. Taking her silence as agreement, the bartender moved smoothly away to prepare her drink.

The young vampire twitched on her stool, eyes darting around again. No one was really looking at her, but she couldn't help but feel hyperaware of her surroundings. This place set her on edge, despite the relaxed ambience, and her threat level felt unreasonably high for a place like this. This was supposed to be _neutral_ ground, so she was technically safe here, even if she were just a little...unusual.

_Maybe I'm just being paranoid... _Trying her best to look cool, Reina glanced around in a more reserved way, only to be startled as the person on her right moved, her arms tensing in readiness for a fight at the sudden unexpected gesture. However, Emo Poet was only picking up his...or was it her...mug and drinking quietly from it.

With a puff of unneeded breath, Reina forced herself to relax, gritting her teeth and accidentally flashing a fang for all of two seconds before she regained her composure. She had momentarily forgotten that the goth wannabe next to her still existed. Given how silent and unmoving that gender-unspecific person was, Reina could have been forgiven for that little slip.

Taking a quick breath just to maintain her human pose, Reina briefly caught a whiff of what seemed like blood, and her irises contracted slightly at the scent. It wasn't exactly fresh though, the blood-scent, but it was definitely her kind of food. About to sniff around for the source, Reina was surprised again when a tall glass was set in front of her with a heavy sounding thud.

"Enjoy." The bartender smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and moved to serve the customer adjacent to the vampire. Reina, however, was barely aware of whatever Emo Poet was ordering, her attention wholly focused on the rich red liquid in the glass before her.

_This smells...strange..._ Cautiously, she took the glass and held it close to her face, sniffing the liquid discreetly. Dark eyes flashed red for a single instant, the unmistakable scent of old blood blended into the drink triggering the brief flare of her true side. Without hesitation now, she placed the glass to her lips and drank, feeling the rich texture of blood and brandy caress her tongue and tingle down her throat.

"That's the Bloody Baron, compliments from another guest. I gather it is to your taste, Blood-Born?" The last words were whispered, and Reina looked up sharply at the knowing glint in the bartender's eye. Next to them, the goth wannabe turned a page in the little book clasped in his (or her, Reina stlll couldn't tell, what with the hair cut short and the shaded profile) hands, to all intents and purposes oblivious to the larger world beyond that tiny sphere.

"Very." Reina managed a somewhat dignified reply despite her surprise. Clearly, this kindly looking butler turned bartender was not unused to serving vampires. The mode of address was a little strange to her, but Reina assumed that it was a formal, if archaic, title. It wasn't like she had the opportunity to get into contact with vampire society, if there was one. Reina didn't know the first place to look, since those who walked the shadows could be pretty elusive at times.

"I'm glad, then." 'Alfred' nodded. "How else may I serve you?"

Reina couldn't decide between being flattered at the VIP treatment, or being instantly suspicious. She settled on somewhere in between, eyes narrowing cautiously as she nursed the drink between her palms.

"Yes...well..." The youthful vampire started slowly, framing the question in her mind. Some deep instinct warned her to tread carefully, cautioning that help could not simply be bullied out of this delicate-seeming old man. Again she cursed her absent master for conveniently forgetting to teach her about the proper customs and traditions of the darker world she had been reborn into. If only they had had more time together...!

"I need some information. I've been...advised...that I would be able to receive an answer here." A small smirk curved the side of Reina's lips, as she remembered the means with which she had obtained said 'advice'. Violence might not always be the answer, but it did feel good...especially when you were on the right side of it.

After all, was not giving better than receiving?

"I will do my best." The bartender replied diffidently, picking up another glass to compulsively clean it. Reina wondered if the man had OCD. After a moment of staring, he cleared his throat to get her attention, and the vampire blinked, having been distracted by shiny things (namely, lights playing off that pretty glass) in the meantime.

"I'm looking for someone. A DJ. Goes by the name Seirei." Reina shot off a little curtly, still somewhat embarrassed by her own inattention. The bartender put that already gleamingly clean glass down and picked up another, but not before pulling on his cuffs and shaking out his wrists, eyes glinting in the dim light.

"Ah yes, Seirei-sama." He rubbed hard at a non-existent spot on the glass. "And what would you want with her, Blood-Born?"

"None of your business." Reina replied abruptly, feeling her senses tingle slightly with annoyance. She gripped the glass she held, taking another quick gulp to calm her nerves. The blood helped. It always did. Sort of.

'Alfred' nodded. "Certainly it is none of mine," he agreed calmly. "However, Seirei-sama is a busy person, and will not entertain unannounced guests. She is, how shall I put it, selective." He smiled, a touch of irony on that wrinkled face. "I will need to forward your request should you desire a meeting. That is all I can do."

"Can't you just tell me where to find her?" Reina muttered grouchily, staring just a little sulkily at the bartender. Her eyes narrowed as she put a few things together. "So...you know about her being...this, 'Blood-Born' as well?" Pointless question, but Reina just had to make sure. It would explain a lot, and confirm her suspicions that yes, Seirei was indeed that vampire she sought.

His answer was abrupt, even chillingly formal. "Seirei-sama is FAR beyond mere Kindred, tyro. Not even the Nobles will cross such a one. Do not presume that your immortality in any way preserves you from the wrath of an Ancient."

The way he said it ticked her off, it did. Reina did not like being forbidden to do things. It just made it more of a challenge for her to accomplish them. Bad habit, perhaps, but that was just the way she was. She scowled up at him, finishing the last of her drink.

"So you're not gonna help?" At least, she reflected, she had pretty much confirmed that this Seirei was basically the strong vampire she was looking for. It didn't even occur to her that given how 'Alfred' appeared to be connected to the vampiric underworld, she could easily have asked for help on looking for a better mentor to approach.

But no, once Reina had gotten an idea into her head, she would stubbornly stick to it until the very end. Much could be said and commended upon her single-mindedness of purpose, where devotion to a single goal could indeed be a laudable achievement in a day and age of short attention spans (otherwise known as the IT Age).

Or one could just be mean and say that she was pig-headed. Truth, after all, ran relative to circumstance.

Regardless, she had already made up her mind, and she _would_ look for this mysterious Seirei, come heaven, hell, or a host of vampire hunters...ok, scratch that last bit. Vampire hunters sucked, not literally, but they were still annoying pain-in-the-asses. Reina still had a 'souvenir' from that last encounter. She swore she would tear that little bitch a few new holes to match with those creepy eyes of hers the next time she ran into her...

"I am merely warning you about rash action against forces I suspect you do not fully understand, child." His eyes were piercing as he met her gaze, completely unafraid despite knowing that she was a vampire. "I can still forward your request, but any meeting will only be on Seirei-sama's terms. Can you accept that?"

She knew she shouldn't have said it. She knew she should have been less impulsive, more careful, more _tactful_. But to hell with it all, she was pissed _off_.

"No I do NOT." Eyes flared a dangerous shade of red as she stood, fangs barely concealed as she hissed her reply.

"I don't care if she's God, or even a fanged version of Jesus _fucking_ Christ. No one, and I mean _no one_ tells Reina what to do!" The novice vampire growled, baring her fangs threateningly. "You can take your warning and shove it up your ass."

And with that, she walked out. Or stomped away. Same difference.

The windchimes did not tinkle this time. They clanged.

Silence. Then a wry voice cut through it, dry and amused.

"Spirited, isn't she?" A soft rustle of paper on paper, slender white hands stark against a black cover. Lips pressed into a thin smile. "Youth these days..."

"Does my lady pass judgment? I can make the necessary arrangements..." If he bowed his head any lower, he'd be kissing the counter. A throaty chuckle.

"That is not needful. The Covenant can keep their hands off my territory. I will take care of it should it become a problem." A smile. "Lord knows I need the diversion, it's a slow decade."

"As you wish, my lady. Is there anything else my humble self can do to aid you?"

"No, there is nothing else. Thank you, Raimond." A whisper of movement, then darkness.

He didn't even get the chance to grovel. Damn Ancients and their disappearing tricks. Unconsciously, he started cleaning off another glass, noting the book left behind.

_Sunshine_. At least someone had a sense of humor. Lord help him, he needed one just to survive the day. Shaking his head, he realized _his_ hand was the one that was shaking.

He sighed, putting down the glass and reaching for another. Damn vampires.

~*~*~

The future, no matter what Determinists have to say about it, is hardly if ever fixed, or even static. The flow of time, hardly discernable to mere humans who were no more than insignificant specks buffeted within its relentless currents, was ever changing, mutating with every single factor that made the slightest shift.

After all, is it not said that when a butterfly flaps its wings on one side of the world, a hurricane could result on the other end?

So it was with cause and effect in the aegis of time, with incalculable factors subject to change on the merest whim. Humans did, after all, have some form of free will. And they exercised it with a pathetically low awareness of the role they played in the greater scheme of things beyond their own puny existences.

Thus, fortune telling by a true Seer could be annoyingly vague. There was no such thing as a settled timeline, merely infinite possibilities. Without proper training, attempting to decipher the chaos of endless probabilities could potentially damage the mind beyond repair.

Even then, it was all just a game of probability. Events took place due to a combination of factors, and the removal or mutation of one or more of the factors could potentially alter the course of events. And given the element of uncertainty with the complication of free will, it can be said that future sight is hazy at best.

Kamei Yuriko, formerly Hikusei Yuriko prior to marriage, was well used to seeing all sorts of possible future paths. In her line of work, coming into contact with people from all walks of life, it exposed her to any number of possibilities. Promotions, betrayals, laughter, tears. Birth and death. All a part of life.

You just got used to it after a while.

However, once in a while, she still got visions that shook her to the very core of her soul. Like right now.

Delving into that endless void where past, present and future intersected in a wild tangle of antecedent and aftermath, Yuriko felt that familiar spiraling sensation as ego parted ways from the trinity of self to coast through the corridors of fate. It was easy to get lost here, wrenched out of your mind rather literally.

It was the unfamiliar sense of nausea in this vulnerable state that woke her to the reality of what she was truly witnessing.

Most ordinary humans, leading ordinary lives, generally had a set number of regular experiences that are most likely to occur. Even their trials and tragedies were not exempt from this rule. There were only so many things that could happen to a person in one lifetime, and in the many lifetimes of countless people all over the world, certainly some events were more common than others.

Yuriko had seen her fair share of 'death by violent agency', as she classified it in her own mind, but the sheer _brutality_ of some of the possible paths chilled her. No stranger to witnessing possible violent deaths in her patrons, she was nevertheless shaken by the carnage in every single scene.

She always tried to nudge them to safety, her conscience not being able to condone silence after witnessing a tragic end. In one of her cases, there had been a possibility for rape and murder, and her succeeding advice had been for the girl in question to 'avoid going outside tonight'. Yet another one had been caught at the wrong place and time, possible victim of a car accident; she ended up warning him to stick to public transport for the next few days.

Sometimes her advice was heeded, and disaster barely averted, since after all, the human factor for unpredictability could still alter the course of events. Other times, greater causes had overshadowed any possible remedial effects, sending events hurtling along at breakneck speed for the inevitable.

There was no helping such cases, naturally. Some things were just too _big _to deal with, at her current position. She had learned to accept that.

Right now though, 'acceptance' was pretty much a difficult state to achieve. It was difficult to accept that one's own daughter had come into contact, and was in the process of intertwining their fates together, with an individual with a bloodsoaked past. And a high possibility for a short, brutal future.

Flashes of past, present and possible futures, in a complex snarl. Death ran down many routes, beginning and ending. A life born in violence, ending in violence.

_Darkness._ Flash. _Warm, red, comfort._ Flash. _The seed of death._ Flash. _From one to two, and back to one again._

The Past was the foundation stone for Futurity. There was no escaping it. None at all.

One path, a torn throat! _bloodkillfight_ Another, mauled and broken! _fleshtearrip_ A hand, tattered and bleeding, raised in supplication, abandoned in defeat.

So many paths, so much blood. She recoiled, horrified, afeared. Such a cruel fate!

And then she saw it. The Nexus. The point where everything tipped in the balance. The hand of Fate itself.

The obscuring mists of time made it all so vague, yet so starkly _real_. She saw so much, yet so much more remained beyond imagination.

Yuriko was a Seer, but she was also human and therefore vulnerable to emotion. She pushed further, wanting, no, _needing_ to see more. For the sake of her daughter, who had become so involved. For the sake of that poor child before her, who sat unawares of the storm ready to devour her.

Time was not amused. With a wrenching snap, she fell backwards, forcibly evicted from the Garden of Destiny. Her vision reeled, muscles straining across every inch of her flesh as her eyes widened even more, seeing and unseeing at the same time.

Locking with the startled gaze of her little Eri's new best friend, Yuriko could only gasp out one last warning before the pain overtook her, erasing that forbidden image she had sought and taken.

"Beware your blood...the hand..." Her eyes rolled upwards into her eyelids, whites showing clearly as she slumped over.

"Mom!"


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own the plot, the action and random people getting killed. Yeah. That's all.

**

* * *

Chapter 6**

She thought she would have felt...more...in a situation like this, where something apparently momentous was supposedly happening. I mean, it doesn't get much bigger than having your future told to you, after all.

But all that possessed her was a strange sense of disappointment, and...emptiness? There was a strange sensation of nothingness as those eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul, as if she had nothing and everything to hide, almost a sense of being incorporeal. She resisted the urge to move her hand, pinch herself, assuring that she really was there, and not just a figment of her own imagination.

Moments ticked by palpably, and Risa found her eyes trailing that bead of sweat that had formed on Yuriko's forehead, following its path as it slid down past her temple and again down her cheek, finally hanging heavily at the edge of her chin, frozen, wavering. Her hand in Yuriko's was being squeezed, almost too tightly, and the rest of her arm tensed, shifting uncomfortably.

Tension slipped first into boredom, then back towards vague unease. What could possibly take so long? Risa couldn't fathom what could be so complicated about the future of a normal person like her. She wasn't even particularly remarkable in any one field, nor in possession of anything that would take her down odd paths.

Frankly, her future seemed boring to her. More likely than not she would end up in some dead end office job if she were any less careful. Or maybe get married to some reasonable guy that she may or may not meet in the future. Set up a family, have kids. Then die at a ripe old age surrounded by grandchildren. You know, that kind of normal, boring, and utterly predictable lifestyle.

Niigaki Risa wasn't really expecting all that much out of her own life. She was a decent person, helpful to her friends and people around her generally, and was a filial child. She wasn't seeking any kind of momentous exploit to mark her passing through this world, although at times she found herself wishing that her life was just a _tad_ more exciting, just once.

She found herself inexplicably thinking of that once more, as she watched the expression on Yuriko's face shift from unease to fear. Her senses seemed remarkably detached from the situation, taking in the look in the older woman's eyes, the heave of her chest as her breathing tightened into little gasps, the grip of bony fingers cutting off her own circulation.

Risa's vision seemed to narrow, her consciousness separating to different levels. On one hand, her normal self was protesting the excessively tight grip, wanting to pull away, but afraid to offend her friend's mother. Doubt, unease, discomfort. As expected out of the situation.

On the other hand, her meditative self was unruffled, unemotional, continually taking in information, reading the situation, telling her things. Like how Yuriko's pupils had dilated, how sweat was gathering on the older's palms, the near invisible trembling of intense concentration. The sharp angle of her jawline, the rippling motion of tightly clenched muscles evident across it.

She had barely enough time to knit the pieces together before nails dug painfully into her skin, carving into her flesh. Almost.

"Beware your blood..." A choked gasp, shrinking pupils and ragged breaths. "...the hand..."

The lights went out, both in Yuriko's eyes and the room, the candle snuffed as Yuriko collapsed.

"Mom!" Eri cried out, immediately rushing to support her mother's limp form. In the shadows, the room dimly illuminated by the glow of dusty old bulbs filtering through the entrance, there was a messy scuffle as arms and legs scrambled around trying to do a hundred things at the same time.

A few knocks, bruises, and lots of confusion later, order was partially restored by dint of Sayumi finally finding another candle and somehow managing to light it without setting anything else on fire. Risa and Eri were by Yuriko's side, the latter of the pair panicking and near tears; while Risa, though still slightly shocked by what had taken place, had set aside her personal unease to deal with the current crisis.

As for the current moment, Risa was alternating between reassuring the panicked daughter and trying to get the comatose mother into a comfortable position. Sayumi carefully set down the lit candle and trotted over, taking over the duty of calming Eri down by the simple expedient of wrapping her arms around her hysterical best friend, thus freeing Risa's attention towards caring for Yuriko.

"It's ok, Eririn, everything's gonna be ok..." Sayu spoke soothingly into Eri's ear, patting her comfortingly and continuing to talk Eri out of frightened mode. Eri, for her part, was still very much twitchy, her eyes darting around like rabbits in spring, trying to verify that her mother was indeed fine and not permanently disabled or worse.

Risa was rubbing Yuriko's temples in an effort to wake the older woman, and her efforts paid off as Yuriko's eyelids fluttered, albeit briefly. Eri seemed to calm down at the sight, moving forward to kneel by her mother's side and inadvertently dragging Sayu along with her.

"Mom?" Eri sounded very vulnerable as she stared, wide-eyed, up at her mother's face. Yuriko's forehead creased as she winced, groaning. Risa, who had left briefly to look for some water, returned with a glass.

"Yuriko-san? Here's some water if you're up to it." The oldest of the trio coaxed gently, placing the glass close to Yuriko's lips and tilting it gently after the woman had nodded ever so slightly, the grimace still on her face. Eri seemed much relieved as her mother drank, patting her on the back when Yuriko coughed, gagging slightly on the water.

"Are you alright, Yuriko-obaasan?" Sayumi asked a little anxiously, concern written all over her face. She had not let go of Eri the whole time, but had now raised one hand to hold Yuriko's in a comforting grip.

"Mother...of all...headaches..." The Seer groaned, using her free hand to shade her eyes. Her voice was weak, but otherwise steady as she continued.

"Did I...say anything?" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Felt like I saw something...important...can't remember..."

Sayumi exchanged a long glance with Risa. The words remained with them still, but Risa made the decision for both of them in an instant.

"No, it was nothing." Risa set the glass down firmly, matching the note in her own voice. "Nothing at all."

"You should rest." Sayumi carried on, an unreadable look in the glance she spared Risa before directing a concerned gaze at Yuriko. The older woman closed her eyes, her free hand reaching down to pat her daughter on the head, as if to reassure her. Eri simply hugged her mother around the waist, laying her head in her lap.

"Maybe you should bring her home...?" Risa suggested, looking directly at Sayu again. The devil bunny nodded, releasing her hold on Eri and tapping her best friend on the shoulder.

"We should get your mother back home, Eririn." Eri looked back up, seeming to get a better hold of herself as she glanced quickly at her mother, who still looked more than a little pale. Slowly, she nodded, rising to her feet but never losing contact with her mother.

"Do you need my help? I could..." Risa started, but Sayu was already shaking her head.

"No, Eri and I should be able to manage." Sayumi smiled, but it seemed a little less bright than usual. Risa couldn't help but get the feeling that the younger girl was looking more closely at her than usual. Eri, for her part, was carefully trying to support her mother to her feet, and Sayu rushed to take the other side.

"Are you sure?" Risa wrung her hands together unconsciously, feeling a strong urge to do something to help but not knowing what to do.

"It's really out of the way for you, Gaki-san, we wouldn't want to keep you out late for two nights in a row." Sayu's smile still failed to reach her eyes. Those eyes. Risa felt like they were dissecting her, cross-examining her somehow. It was disturbing.

"Sayu lives next door, so it's alright. We'll see you soon Gaki-san. Don't worry so much!" Eri's smile though, was completely unfettered, the same goofy turtle girl she was the first time Risa had met her. The whole world might change, but Eri remained herself. That was the kind of feeling she got whenever she looked at Eri. It was comforting, too. Somehow.

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon then." Risa gave in reluctantly, standing aside as the pair helped Yuriko out. Risa stared after them for a moment, the lengthening shadows stained with shades of red and green and orange. Carnival lights, but old and faded. Just as the place was. Just as _she_ felt, aged and washed out.

Alone. The room seemed a lot smaller. The small blots of shadow, the outlines of her friends, in the distance. Her own, thrown in crazy angles by a wavering flame. She stared, reflecting on herself, the world, nothing at all.

"Nothing at all. Nothing happened." She whispered into the flame. The shadows flickered, puppetry without a guiding hand, mocking her.

She exhaled. The flame sighed with it, pooling darkness reaching out with ebony fingers, caressing her cheeks, threading through her hair. Shades under her eyes. The light was so very small.

"It doesn't matter." _I don't mind. I don't care. __**It doesn't hurt.**_

The light went out. And all that was left was...

~*~*~

Silence.

A single candle burned weakly in the middle of a huge table. The sheer massive structure of that table seemed to consume the entirety of the room, dwarfing the breadth and width of the cold stone room, though the ceiling arched high into unfathomable darkness.

_Drip._ Wax bled red, thicker than blood, coagulating into an unsightly blob. Froze there, the only movement being that wavering flame.

A lack of sound. The space seemed hollow, empty, despite the rich carpeting, the heavy drapes, that ostentatiously large table. Upholstered chairs, spaced evenly at intervals. So much territory occupied, but still that transience lingered.

When sound came, it seemed ethereal, echoing without substance to ricochet across bleak stone. Emotion, it did not wield. Merely a detached observation.

"The Hunters appear to be moving."

Soundless rustle, no more than shadow on shadow. The flame continue to illuminate that weak halo, barely enough to see beyond that pathetic circle of light.

"The Sanguini are disturbed." The new voice was richer in tone, modulated in frequencies that hinted at iron within a velvet fist. "They do not appreciate the breach on their territory." The last note was delivered neutrally, a fact stated, but there was no mistaking the displeasure lacing those words.

"The Watchers are looking into it, Radu." Another replied; this one a raspy hiss resembling the sibilant whisper of a serpent. "Apparently the Hunters have been culling the Thin Bloods more aggressively in the past few months."

"That's one problem solved." A monosyllabic grunt followed that roughhewn voice. "Damn trash don't even deserve to be called Nosferatu."

"Indeed." The first voice laid no particular weight on that agreement. "Though there are some who appear to be a little above their base instincts."

A brief pause. Snake Voice was the first to contribute.

"There are...rumors...of an underground movement. A coalition against the purebred clans." A sneer. "Hardly a threat."

"Perhaps." First Speaker withheld any judgment, and another void moment passed.

"What of the Ancients?" A slow, deliberate voice entered the discussion. "They may yet take a hand in our affairs."

"Not those who are active." Snake Voice deterred. "They no longer worry themselves over mortal concerns."

"Especially not the Daywalker." The rough voice growled lowly. "The sun must have baked her brains out a few eons ago."

"Careful of who you speak ill of, Ferrus. You are far from being able to handle a Blood Royal." The slow voice cautioned, although there was some thinly veiled amusement held to it.

Ferrus snarled softly, but made no further protest. "You know it's a bad idea to let her and that spawn of hers run around unchecked, Petrov."

"I agree that it's a risk. Their bloodline is precious. But who are we to stop our Princess?" A touch of irony colored First Speaker's words.

"She is as cold to us as ever, is she not?" Petrov observed archly. "Raimond's last report was characteristic of her."

"The Ancient can wait for now." Radu interjected. "At any rate, that hellspawn of hers is causing far more of a stir."

First Speaker spoke. "Baran?"

"My Watchers have gathered that our Cainite brethren are less than pleased by her free reign in that region." Baran's slithery voice continued with a tinge of displeasure. "The Hunters have already been drawn there."

"The Hunters know better than to touch the Nobles and those above. They can't spare so many to take down just one." Petrov noted clinically.

"The Hunters' Association knows their place. The secrecy statutes bind both sides, and we all know what is at stake." First Speaker stated, and a lull followed that statement. Ferrus was the one to break it.

"Child of a Blood Royal or not, we cannot let something like that run wild in Clan-territory. It would set a bad precedent."

"I will dispatch a Watcher to deliver the message. Traditional courtesies must be observed." Baran coughed, his voice lowering to a gurgle. "Meanwhile, there are other infractions to be dealt with..."

"And there is also the Gathering to be organized..."

"The Archives too...bloodlines to be updated..."

"We need to speak to the Ordo Dracul again..."

"Also, the matter of ascension..."

And throughout the whole discussion, not a single breath had been taken. Silent as the grave, the room bore witness to the deliberations of those without breath nor life, cold as the stone that comprised the chamber.

The candle flickered.

~*~*~

The sun cast long shadows across the barren land, dotted here and there by fields of hardy poppy plants. Mountains clawed up at the clouds, their backs making a jagged outline across the sky's basin.

Near the foot of those mountains, a tiny settlement hid in the shadows of those great giants, barely visible from high above, and unmarked on most maps. Brown on brown, it melted almost perfectly into the landscape. Darkness would soon envelop it, and it would escape detection for yet another day.

Black-robed figures busied themselves within that little settlement. Too small to be a real village, but bigger than a campsite. The heavy veils remained in place despite the blistering heat of a day which was drawing to a close, and the long fringes of their robes raised little dust clouds as they did their chores, often pausing to usher the many children at play indoors into the crude little mud huts that sheltered them.

The children laughingly dodged their attempts, whooping and cheering as they chased each other. A boisterous pair tackled each other, tumbling in the dirt as they wrestled each other. The other children, no older than 13 or 14, settled into a loose ring to watch, bright eyes shining eagerly.

A darker shadow ghosted over, and a sharp voiced command halted them immediately. Despite the edged tone, there was no mistaking the concern, nor the hint of femininity in that husky voice. The children, boys all, nodded, eyes wide, but with reverent faces as they gazed at the robed and veiled woman who towered over them.

"Run along now, it's getting late." The tongue of the desert nomads made her already husky voice sound harsher in using it, and the boys responded to the command without protest, scattering off to the respective huts.

The tall figure watched them with a distinct air of approval, before turning her attention to sweep across the edges of their little settlement. Keen eyes seemed to see far further than they let on, before sweeping upwards to glance at the setting sun. It would be dark soon, yet not quite soon enough for her tastes.

The dry, grainy wind shifted, the unmistakable scent of blood hitting her nose. It was no more than a whiff, but she wasted no time in action.

"Everyone, hide! Don't come out until I say it's safe!" Her voice echoed with authority, and all the other robed women around the settlement reacted, scurrying towards the dubious safety of the mud huts. The older children had to be dragged in, despite their willingness to stand their ground.

Within a minute, the whole settlement had been swept clean of human presence. Only that lone figure remained, all wrapped up in that heavy black robe that covered her from head to toe. The wind picked up its pace, kicking up clouds of dust.

She stood still in the precise middle of the encampment, eyes focused intently on one spot in the dust clouds. Flexing her fingers in the voluminous sleeves of her robe, she tasted the air with her tongue. It was heavy with hostility, and she lowered her head, her expression lost within the folds of her hood.

_One, two, three...there's a lot of them out there._ Dusky eyes flicked upwards to gauge the sun's passage. It seemed to be moving at a crawl.

"Well, damn." She muttered in her native tongue. "This is _really_ pissing me off."

"There! There's the witch!" A voice laced with hatred shouted, ending with a grunt of pain. Again, the smell of blood, sharper and closer.

She tossed her head, amused as she figured out what had led trouble to her door. She knew she should have been more thorough with the last raid.

"That's more than a mere _witch_..." Another voice, strangely accented in a way she thought she could recognize. "That's a _vampire_."

"_Upyri_?" The native man whispered fearfully, eyes wide. He muttered some prayer to his god, backing away hurriedly before turning tail and making a run for it.

He didn't make it very far though. A rock, accurately hurled, smashed the back of his skull open. He dropped like a squashed fly. The woman flexed her fingers, shaking the dust off them. She waited, knowing that those who hunted her would soon show themselves.

She wasn't disappointed. A lone figure emerged in dramatic fashion out of the swirling dust, his shadow stretching almost far enough to reach her. The sun was at his back, meaning it was practically right in her eyes. She growled, cracking her knuckles ominously. Around her, curious eyes peered from crude windows, anxious.

"Vampire." That single word was filled with loathing. There was no question that the man in front of her despised her very existence. She snorted.

"Hunter." She returned the acknowledgment, watching the sun continue its annoyingly slow descent beneath the horizon. He seemed to catch the action, and smirked.

"Your robes won't protect you much longer!" That was all the warning she received as he lunged at her, blades flashing. She sighed, jumping back as one slash ripped through the front of her robe. The hunter was a frenzy of dancing swords and muttered curses, and the air sang as he slashed relentlessly at her.

The robes were a hindrance, she recognized that. Allowing him to cut her, or well, her clothes, she surprised him by hurling a fistful of sand into his eyes, ducking and rolling as she yanked off the heavy black burqa that had served to protect her from the harsh solar rays.

Beneath that cumbersome disguise lay a lithe figure clad in utilitarian combat fatigues. Her long hair came free of the loose bun she had tied it into, and it settled onto her shoulders as she came back up to her feet, pulling a combat knife from her boot.

He had recovered quickly after her little sand surprise, but this act managed to stun him for a split second. "What...but..." His head whirled around quickly to check that yes, the sun was indeed still in the sky, spilling the rays of death to any vampire.

Any vampire but this one, who stood and stretched, bathed in the orange glow and showing no signs of either falling over or burning into ash. The serrated edge of her knife glinted ominously, and he lost sight of it for a moment before well-honed reflexes reacted in time to throw his blades into self-defense.

"Pay attention, Hunter." The woman hissed, her shorter blade parried by the thrumming swords of the hunter. "I am not your usual riffraff."

His eyes narrowed, sweat beading his forehead as he muttered the incantation under his breath. The runes inscribed on his swords flared, blasting the vampire squarely with flame. She narrowly dodged, leaping and skidding around, crouched low like a panther, her eyes alert with dreadful intent.

"Not bad." She commented offhandedly. "That almost hurt." Burnt wisps of her hair floated by. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I don't like people messing with my hair." He had barely time to take a breath before she was on to him again, forcing him to use every bit of his skill to even keep up with the force and speed of her strikes. He was loath to admit it, but every time he parried, his arms grew numb from the staggering force he had to stop.

Something clicked in his mind, and he quickly bounded backward, eyes wide as he gave the female vampire a once over.

"_Daywalker_?" He said out loud. She laughed, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Nah, that's my Master." She grinned savagely. "You're not even good enough to kiss the ground she walks on, filthy Hunter."

"That accursed bloodline..." He spat, eyes flashing. "It will be my blade that cleanses you off our world!"

"Sorry, but I kinda want to live long enough to see my Master again. The likes of you won't be able to stop me." She had barely finished before he called out in his native language, and the shock of recognition, given that it was _her_ native language as well, almost did her in.

Instinct was what saved her as her body threw itself away from where she stood, before a hail of bullets spattered into the space where she previously had been. She rolled, coming back upright in a crouch again. Saw the sizzling ground where she had last been.

"Well, about time you folks got a tech upgrade. 21st century and all..." Her eyes scanned around for the hidden snipers, mentally mapping their locations. They pretty much had her surrounded. "But bullets aren't going to work, you know."

"Only if they're _normal_ bullets, vampire." His eyes glowed with a disturbing kind of fanaticism. She sighed and bunched her muscles, zigzagging around to make it difficult for the snipers to hit her, heading for the annoying hunter under the assumption that his comrades would not open fire on one of their own.

"Quit calling me vampire. I have a name too, you know." She complained in her own language, taking satisfaction from his surprise as she swung at him.

"Yeah, I'm Japanese too. _Baka_." She kicked at his midsection, knocking the wind out of him. He managed to get a return cut in though, the gash burning painfully. Magicked weapons were a royal pain in the ass. She really didn't like hunters very much.

Then a hail of bullets raining down on her reminded just how much she hated those self-important bastards.

"Shit." Bullets might not be able to kill her, but being riddled with holes wasn't her idea of a fun time. What made things worse was that the bullets _hurt_ a lot more than usual. They seemed to burn her from inside out, a stunning sensation. She fell, writhing from the shock and pain.

"How'd you like that, vampire?" The hunter wheezed as he came over. "That's our new weapon. Burns, doesn't it? Specially for you vampire scum." He ground out between clenched teeth, raising his sword to aim at her unprotected neck, ready to finish her off.

The runed blade came down with shocking speed, halting abruptly at her neck. Was halted, actually.

One pale hand had closed around it, blood trickling down the blade from her palm. He couldn't even make the sword budge at all, even with his augmented strength.

A long tongue flicked out to catch the droplets of blood from the blade. Eyes burning with inhuman glee pierced him, and she spoke.

"Night time, buddy." She grinned, flashing her fangs for the first time since the fight started. His eyes widened, realizing a little too late that the sun had finally set.

The sword was twisted out of his hands with shocking ease, his wrist cracking from the force. He hissed in pain, his own eyes flashing with a hint of red as he retreated from the awakened demon before him.

"That hurt." She growled, her form seeming to merge into shadow. "But it's _nothing_ compared to what I'm gonna give you."

"Good night. It was fun knowing you."

They never even knew what hit them.

~*~*~

The moon lit her path as she left the station, walking down well worn paths to her modest home. It was some distance, but not so far that she had to take any other transport to reach it. Besides, walking wasn't so bad. It helped to clear her thoughts.

There weren't many people around, except for some individuals lurking around alleys and other pedestrians that were headed either to or from the station she had just exited. It was not the best part of town, but it wasn't the dumps at least. Still, not always the safest for a girl to be out alone.

Well, she should be safe enough along the main road at least. Risa did not slow her steps as she followed that familiar route home, head down and minding her own business. She had learned that minding her own business was a good thing to do when outside.

The night seemed very quiet and cold, with far fewer people on the streets than she would have expected. Well, it did look like it was going to rain. Perhaps it was pure sensibility that kept people off the streets. Still, it made her feel isolated. Alone.

"Mou...stop thinking like that!" She scolded herself out loud, sticking her hands into the pockets of her coat. Her face seemed to vanish further into her collar as she ducked her head down further, and she wasn't paying much attention to what her feet was doing as her mind decided that it would be a fine time to wander.

It wasn't a good time to be woolgathering though.

"Ow." She winced as her shoulder collided painfully with someone else. "Sorry." She apologized reflexively, her eyes coming up to meet those of the person she had accidentally run into.

"It's ok." A smile that was not quite a smile was directed at her, but Risa wasn't looking at that. Those eyes...she had to shake herself before she got utterly lost in them.

"Uh I..." She stuttered, but the stranger had already moved on, brushing past her. Risa stood still for a moment, wondering. Those eyes had seemed so familiar, so...mesmerizing. She half turned, wanting to take another look at the beautiful stranger.

But she was gone. No trace of her, just other normal civilians on their way home.

Risa shook her head again, trying to rid it of extraneous thoughts. "None of my business." She muttered, starting to walk again.

~*~*~

It had been a short, ugly fight. She grinned, a blood-spattered one. Fangs gleamed in the moonlight, now unobscured by the clouds.

"That was fun." She licked her hand clean after having ripped the heart out of one of hunters just moments ago. She had managed to take the worst of the actual fight away from the little settlement she had been residing in, not wanting the children to see just how savage she could get.

It had just been a matter of picking the morons off one by one after that, taking advantage of the darkness before the moon showed itself. She was wary of hunters, but not a bunch like these. She had seen worse, faced more dangerous hunters with her Master. The ones today weren't so bad, but they just weren't up to taking on something like her.

Still, being injured sucks. She hissed in pain as her fingers dug into her shoulder to remove a bullet that had been lodged in there. It hurt far more than bullets should have. She would know, she had been shot before. World War II had been a very enlightening experience.

"Ugh." She growled, pulling the annoying bullet out. Her shoulder almost sighed in relief from the light burning sensation that it had been causing. She glared at the offending thing in her palm.

"Stupid hunters." She muttered, noting the runes carved onto the spent shell. "Hmm."

Her eyes flicked to an abandoned rifle on the ground. Two steps and a few experienced motions snapped the half-empty cartridge out. The bullets inside seemed to gleam with a strange aura. She didn't like the feeling.

"Well this looks interesting." She took the cartridge with her. "I guess its time to get outta here." She looked around, stepping carefully around discarded guns, limbs, and smashed heads.

She kicked an eyeball, watched it roll, before smashing it with her heel. Her grin was feral as she took off into the night.

"Time to go see what these pesky Hunters are really up to."

~*~*~

"I'm back." She called out, taking off her shoes and stepping in.

"Welcome home." A warm voice greeted almost instantly, and the smiling face of her mother appeared at the entrance to the kitchen. "How was your day, Risa-chan?"

"It was alright, mother." Risa answered with a tired little smile, removing her coat as she padded towards her room. She paused at a little tablet in the main hall, inclining her head and as per her usual habit, murmured a quiet little "I'm back" at the forlorn tablet on the altar.

Her mother watched her for a moment, then went back into the kitchen. "Remember to put your dirty laundry into the basket after you shower."

"Yes mother." Risa replied automatically, heading back into her room.

The door clicked shut behind her. She dropped her bag in the corner, then dropped herself onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was bare, much like the rest of her personal space. There was some personal clutter on her table, but she never bothered to leave more of herself lying around the room. Not much point in excessive decoration when she never knew when she was going to have to move again.

Sitting up, her gaze fell on the framed picture on her desk. Just a little family picture. Her father, her mother. And her.

She stared at it from a distance. Couldn't help but feel that something was missing from that picture. She knew what it was too. She had just paid her respects to it just minutes ago.

_]I wonder what it would have been like to have a sister?_ Risa mused, not for the first time. She _had_ had one, but she never remembered it. Couldn't have, not when her sister, her twin, had been dead for as long as she had been born.

_Stillborn._ Risa had never known her twin for the precise fact that she had never been able to grow up with her. To this day, it was as if a piece of her was missing, in some strange, psychic sort of way. Or maybe it was just emotional, since she hadn't had many friends growing up. Hadn't been able to, not with the constant moving.

"I wish..." She said out loud, her voice sounding very loud in the silence. Moonlight filtered in through her window, pooling at her feet.

She wriggled her toes. The shadows followed. She sighed.

"Never mind." The picture stared back at her. She ignored it.

"Doesn't matter."

Moonlight in her eyes. The ceiling was still too bare as she laid on her back.

"I don't want to care..." She whispered. Her vision blurred, soaking her pillow.

And no one noticed.

They never did.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Nothing to sue me for here. Fun only, no profit.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"Waaaaaaaah~ I can't believe break is almost over!" Eri wailed in utter anguish as she buried her face in her arms on the table. The ice cream parlor ignored her. It had had its fair share of whining students in the past week or so. One more wouldn't make a difference. Actually, the business was rather welcome.

"It's ok, have a parfait." Sayumi consoled her in the most practical way possible: dessert. Eri's eyes lit up at the mention of the cold, sweet treat.

"Parfait? For me?" She squealed as the delicious dessert was pushed in front of her. "Yay!"

Sayumi watched her best friend tear into the parfait with a sweet smile playing on her lips, then tapped at her chin as she wondered aloud.

"But you're right, where did the whole month disappear off to? It's like, poof and it's here; but one blink and it's gone again..." The devil bunny sighed, stealthily stealing a spoonful of ice cream with her spoon from Eri at the same time. Eri spluttered and waved her spoon around like a baton, eyes wide and accusatory. There would be no leeway given in the war over dessert!

The ensuing tussle over the slowly melting pile of ice cream involved a lot of clinking, shoving, and smeared cheeks. Finally, it was resolved by a second double order of parfaits after the last of their prize had melted away during their scuffle. Lesson to be learned? Never get between girls and their ice cream. It could be deadly. Or profitable, if you happened to own an ice cream parlor.

"Mou...where's Gaki-san? She's taking so long..." Eri whined again. Sayumi delicately finished off her dessert, dabbing at her lips with the napkin.

"Oh, she sent a message earlier. Said something about having to drop something off at the post office so she would be late." Sayumi informed her somewhat airy friend. "Weren't you listening when I told you just now?"

"I was...but she still is taking too long..." Eri pouted, twisting her spoon around in her empty bowl. Sayumi grinned evilly as she thought of something else to distract (read: scar) her best friend with.

"So have you thought of what classes you're gonna be taking next semester?" Her grin was positively vicious as Eri groaned aloud at this unwanted reminder of school.

"Did you have to remind me?" Eri pouted harder, and Sayumi stuck her tongue out at the older girl. "Someone has to remind you or you'll forget to sign up for classes again."

"Meh, I have you and Gaki-san to remind me, and I don't forget anyway!" Eri pretended to look offended, then paused, a puzzled look on her face. "When do we have to do the registration again?"

Sayumi broke down laughing. Eri whined again, poking her childhood friend in the shoulder insistently. "Stop laughing at me!"

"Gosh, Eri...classes start in 2 weeks and you still haven't noticed?" Sayumi managed to compose herself after a while. "We have to pick our classes this week!"

"Oh." Eri frowned, then shrugged after a moment. "I'll figure something out."

"Really, you..." Sayumi shook her head. "Oh well, that's my Eririn." She smiled indulgently, hooking her fingers with Eri's and leaning on the older girl's shoulder. "I like you just the way you are~"

Eri grinned, absently playing with strands of Sayu's lustrous black hair. After a few minutes of blissful silence, Eri piped up again.

"So, what classes are _you_ taking?" Sayumi arched one delicate eyebrow, but did not remove herself from Eri's shoulder.

"Mmhmm, I was thinking of taking this one class in applied mathematics..." She started off slowly, hiding her grin as Eri's eyes bulged in horror.

"_Maths_?" The turtle girl squeaked, giving a shocked look at the mass of dark hair to her left. Sayu tilted her face upwards, an impish grin on her lips.

"Well, I _am_ doing Economics, you know. It's in the requirements." Eri was still cringing at the idea of mathematics in general as Sayumi went on.

"But I might still switch over to Business. I'll have to see first." She finished with a shrug even as Eri suppressed the last of her shudders at the dreaded mention of mathematics. Before she could comment any more though, a familiar voice cut in.

"What did you do to Kame again, Sayu? She's all pale and shaky." Risa grinned, having caught on to the tail end of the conversation as she swung into the seat on the opposite side of the table. "Been talking about classes?"

"Yeah. Mathematics~" Sayumi couldn't resist putting that in, and Eri whined again, covering her ears. "Bad word!"

Risa laughed at them. "Oh quit it Sayu, you know you don't have to traumatize her like that."

The youngest of the trio smirked and flashed a peace sign. "But it's so much fun!"

Eri scowled, or tried to. "It is not." She ended up looking cute instead. Sayumi giggled and sat up, snuggling closer to Eri while claiming sole possession of the latter's arm. Risa rolled her eyes at the display, absently taking up a menu and glancing at it.

"I'm taking a class on theater next semester." Risa offered while scanning the list. "It looks like fun. Kame, do you wanna join me?"

Eri brightened up. "Theater? Sounds cool!"

Risa looked up with a smile. "Yeah, we get to watch some pretty cool stuff. I checked out the lesson plans." She cocked her head to one side, thinking. "Plus it would go with some of the literature classes I'm taking, and it's a nice break from staring at a bunch of moldy old books." A wry grin. "So I guess you're in too?"

"Yeah, totally!" Eri cheered. "You can lend me your notes!"

Sayumi made eye contact with Risa, and simultaneously, they smacked their foreheads with their palms. Eri blinked, looking between her two best friends.

"What?" Sayu looked at her and sighed, her expression a combination of exasperation and affection.

"Nothing at all, Eri. Nothing at all..."

~*~*~

A crumpled aluminum can hit the far side of the brick wall, growing even more dented as it bounced and just barely rolled back to where it had first started. An irritated snarl, and the inoffensive can was crushed down to scrap metal.

Tanaka Reina was a ticked off vampire, and for good reason. Well, reasons that were good enough for her anyway.

"Damn you Seirei! Some kind of vampire you are!" A random crate splintered against the wall. "ONE WHOLE MONTH AND NOT EVEN A FUCKING CLUE!" The remains of an old cupboard smashed into that poor, abused wall. "What are you, some kind of coward?! Hiding just cos Reina is looking for you? Huh? Huh!"

Reina felt marginally better after she destroyed a few more inoffensive pieces of junk. She had snooped around, threatened various people, bribed them when necessary, and even went to the extent of following that creepy old bartender around, but all to no avail.

She _did_ manage to find out about quite a few other interesting things that was going on in the city though. Just not what she was interested in.

"Argh." Reina slumped against the least grimy section of the wall, glancing down the very long and dark alley to check that she wasn't being observed. Once satisfied, she scuffed at the gravel surface with a boot, scowling to herself.

It was as if Seirei had vanished into thin air. Reina mentally went through all the tidbits of information she managed to gather. Many people knew _of_ Seirei, but no one else seemed to know anything more about her. Her skill was almost legendary, as was her elusiveness. Only few could even remember anything about her appearance; that was what had mystified Reina. Surely more would have remembered such a striking character.

Even then, all they could appear to mention were her eyes. Those eyes. Reina shuddered, in fear or in excitement, she wasn't entirely certain. Shaking her head, Reina focused, trying to dredge up more concrete memories of Seirei's physical appearance. She came up mostly empty. Just the unforgettable instant of mysterious eyes.

Pale skin, lips curved in a smile that wasn't. Reina frowned. She had almost forgotten that. A melancholy that seemed to transcend all things. Very powerful, but very lonely.

Reina wondered why. And she fully intended to hunt down that elusive vampire and ask her about, well, everything.

"I will never give up!" The young vampire pounded her fist against the wall, sending a shower of sawdust spraying out from where she had struck. She wrinkled her nose and dusted herself off, stepping away from the less than clean surface.

A whisper of sound, too vague to be human, made her react instantly, fangs half-bared. There was no sense of a heartbeat or of breathing, so it could be no living thing that made that sound. Reina cocked her head to one side, listening. The main problem with facing another vampire was the lack of _sound_. Sight wasn't much better, what with their ability to blend into shadows. The lack of a heartbeat or breathing made things worse.

Still, there were ways. Reina kept her senses sharp, slowly moving her head around to scan the area. If that other thing out there moved, she should be able to catch sight of that movement.

She hated every single moment of this. It was like something out of a bad horror movie, and Reina _hated_ horror movies.

Never mind that she could technically _be_ the star of a horror movie given her current status in life now.

Another whisper of sound, heavier this time, followed by a very loud drip. Reina was moving before her mind even processed the information. As her brain caught up to her actions, it had to wonder at how clumsy her supernatural stalker was. No self-respecting vampire would make that much noise while trying to sneak up on someone else, much less someone with the exact same sensory capabilities.

Nevertheless, Reina wasn't about to kick a gift horse in the mouth. She did, however, kick the ass of the lousy stalker blended in at the turnoff into the next little alley in that backstreet maze. He, she, or it flew across the short intervening distance before making painful contact against the other side of the alley.

Without giving the rascal time to recover, Reina was already on him, hauling the poor sod to his feet and putting him into a stranglehold, ready to separate his head from the rest of his body should he try anything.

He was in a bad shape, that much Reina could register, and not all of it was a result of her own assault. For one thing, his skin was pale, paler than what was normal for a vampire, and felt oddly papery. He was also much lighter than someone of his size should have been. More significantly, his eyes were a solid red, fangs protruding unnaturally long in his mouth. When Reina shook him for a reaction, all she got was an animalistic snarl in return.

"Dude, what's your problem?" She was taken off-guard, however, when he swiped recklessly at her, sending her staggering back as she released her grip, seeing stars for a moment. She couldn't remember being hit quite that hard before! Wary now, she circled back around the other vampire cautiously.

_He looks half-starved...maybe that's why he's like that..._ Reina didn't like the idea of a starving vampire running loose on her territory though. Too much risk of exposure, and Reina didn't think it was a good idea for humans to know that vampires existed. It would make her existence so much more inconvenient if humans started taking precautions against their kind.

"Hey, if you need blood, I can go grab someone for you..." Reina offered cautiously. She was a bit reckless sometimes, but after being backhanded like that, she felt that erring on the side of caution wouldn't be such a bad idea for once. Besides, it was rare enough that she came across a strong vampire, even if it was one that was just a little loopy from starvation.

Reina had only gotten really hungry once, and that had been bad enough. She didn't want to think how bad it would be like to get into the same situation as the poor sod in front of her. It must be difficult to even think coherently in that state, much less move around unseen like he sort of was earlier.

"Blood..." He grunted, a glimmer of intelligence coming back to those feral eyes. Reina backed up a little, not wanting to leave her back to a dead end, but blocking off the only exit to that alley. In case he wanted to run off, he was going to have to get past her first.

"Yeah, you look you could use some..." The two vampires were sizing each other up now, the stranger's eyes still glowing with that weird intensity, staring at a spot near her ear. Reina was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the fact that his blow earlier had opened a gash above her ear, and although it had sealed up almost immediately due to her rapid healing, the blood remained.

Reina hadn't so completely shed her humanity that she couldn't feel doubt and fear, and a knot of unease tangled her insides even further. She swallowed nervously, her fangs slipping out into view as she licked her suddenly parched lips.

The sight of her fangs seemed to spur some kind of adverse reaction from the other vampire, who growled angrily and narrowed his eyes to slits. Reina readied herself, wondering what she did wrong. If he wanted a fight, she would show him that Reina was no pushover.

"Are you with _him_?" He snarled, the sentience in his eyes fading back into a primal bestiality. Before Reina could even reply, he was attacking, swinging and kicking wildly like a rabid beast. Reina, taken aback by his ferocity, fell back at first, defending herself as she tried to figure out how to beat the guy.

Feinting quickly, Reina neatly dodged a double-fisted swing that might very well have decapitated her, the strike crashing into the concrete behind her. Running was not an option; given his crazed state she couldn't very well just leave him to run wild, and she was fairly sure he would catch up anyway even if she did run. After turning into a vampire, Reina felt that she might easily outrun a normal human, but against a rabid vampire out for her blood? Very unlikely.

So she would fight. In the split second it took for the hostile vampire to yank his fists out of the rubble that was once a perfectly good section of wall, Reina rounded on his back and struck at his spine. The snapping sound was clearly audible in the night, but it barely did anything against the enraged _creature_ in front of her. Reina had to dodge another wild grab at her, bounding backwards to assess the situation.

_Ok, so spinal damage doesn't kill us. Learning new things all the time..._ Reina thought grimly, ready for another attack. However, it seemed that even vampires were not entirely immune to such a move, because after that desperate grab at her, the stranger fell to his knees, then flat on his front. His legs did not seem to be responding, although his upper body was very much active. He was actually frothing at his mouth as he glared at her, unable to speak.

**Finish it, leech.** His mental voice was as clear as day, and Reina cringed at the pure hatred concentrated in those crimson orbs.

"Fine, whatever. R.I.P. and all that." Reina grumbled as she approached him. One swift blow, and his head was left in an awkward angle. For safety purposes, Reina borrowed the metal pipe she found lying nearby, and drove it into the heart with a wet thud. The corpse flinched with the impact, then seemed to contract in on itself.

Reina blinked in shock as the corpse seemed to relax, a kind of inaudible sigh coming from the final death, then disintegrating right before her eyes. As the ashes were blown away by the wind, Reina dropped the pipe and looked around nervously.

"I didn't do that..." Reina mumbled, backing out into the main street as fast as her legs would carry her. She had never seen a dead vampire do that before, at least not to the same extent. The first time she had killed a newly turned vampire, it had died right there like an ordinary human corpse, and she had had to dispose of it the regular way. Another time, the corpse had shriveled up and looked like the flesh had all but rotted off. Reina had to burn that one up, it looked so disgusting.

"Hmm..." Reina was so caught up in her thoughts, she almost completely missed a conversation being held by a group of obviously drunk young punks with hair in shades of wild color. Normally, she probably wouldn't have bothered with the likes of them, but a certain keyword made her perk up her ears almost instantly.

"...wildest party this month! They even got Seirei to come down! How cool is that?" One punk, his blond mohawk adding a good 3 inches to his height, was gesturing at his friends, sloshing beer from his can everywhere. Intending to take a drink after his oration, he brought the can down with every intention of putting it to his lips, only to find that it was no longer in his hand. Startled, he turned around, only to see a smiling girl holding the article in her hand.

"Now why don't you tell me _all_ about that party, hmm?" Reina's grin was positively vicious as she slowly but deliberately crushed the can into nothing more than a very squashed ball of scrap metal. With a predatory smirk, she tossed the remains of the can aside.

"Shall we begin, or do I have to _make_ you talk?"

The results, as anyone with two nickels to rub together can guess, was fairly predictable. Reina smiled benignly as she dusted off her hands and walked off, leaving a groaning pile of young men who now vowed to never EVER cross cute girls like that again.

Reina whistled as she went on her merry way. This night was turning out to be just fine after all.

~*~*~

"Akito is dead."

The announcement was heavy, but held no further emotion otherwise. As if the loss of a life was yet another number to be taken note of. The tatami room seemed very cold and formal in that instant, the evening breeze lending an appropriate chill to the atmosphere.

The elder sat ramrod straight in the traditional position, his expression inscrutable as he studied the reaction of his youngest grandchild. His only grandchild, after this most recent bereavement. The child, no longer fit for that term, he corrected mentally, looked at him with the eyes of one who had seen too much, too young.

"Did he die well?" Her face was pale, her teeth stubbornly holding her lower lip in place as she returned his gaze, chin up and not betraying her still tender years. A faint discoloration that was slashed across one eye was visible for an instant when she blinked, determined not to show emotion before the head of her family.

"His...remains...have been cremated and placed in the family shrine." The clear implication being that Akito had been in no condition for a public funeral by the time he had been returned to his homeland. The girl gritted her teeth, her jaw rippling with a clear anger that was barely controlled after a moment.

"The family shares your loss." The old patriarch acknowledged, a note of pain briefly underlying his tone. The loss of one of their most promising children was a bitter blow to bear for their diminishing family. Now all that was left for the new generation was this young child kneeling before him, still too young to even undergo the ceremony.

That would soon change. He straightened almost imperceptibly, watching with some approval as she composed herself in the way befitting one of their family. She would do, she had to. Their duty brooked no other choice.

"We have recalled you back from your duties for more than just your brother's death." Here he paused, giving her a moment to digest it. His granddaughter was a smart one, even brighter than Akito himself had been, and her eyes narrowed as she obviously reached some conclusions herself.

"You are the only one of your generation left in our direct descent, and the other branch families send their condolences." Pausing again to gather his thoughts, he continued.

"It is unprecedented, but the other elders agree that it is time for you to undertake the ritual. We are short-handed as it is, and we cannot afford to leave our region unprotected." He let that sink in, watching as the young girl's eyes widened fractionally, but nodding in acceptance without any hesitation.

"You must understand the risks of the ritual. There is no turning back after it, and it is a coming-of-age ceremony for our clan." The girl nodded again, her eyes downcast.

"Yes, Grandfather. I understand and accept."

The aged patriarch spared some pity in his glance for his grandchild, sorry that the full weight of the family's duty had to fall on such young shoulders. However, she had been raised well, and if she lived long enough, she would be a menace to the darkness they fought generation after generation.

"One more thing." He waited as she looked up to meet his gaze again. "The clan has decided also to pull you off active duty for a while after your ceremony has taken place. You know it is custom that we normally give the newly initiated at least 3 months of recovery time." She nodded, aware of the tradition. Satisfied with her knowledge, he continued.

"Due to certain circumstances though, we are unable to give you that same time for recovery." At her sudden stiffening, he quickly added.

"No, we will not send you on active duty immediately. To do that so soon after the ceremony is suicide. We do not intend to lose you as well." The girl relaxed, waiting attentively as curiosity burned in her eyes.

"One of our branch families have requested aid in locating one of the wayward members of their line." The old man watched as the girl's lips twitched, as if about to say something. "You may speak freely."

"Grandfather, would that be the same case as the one I read in our archives? The eloped couple?"

The old man nodded approvingly at her quick deduction. "Yes, the very same. Our relatives have been devoting what little resources they can spare towards recovering their lost son, and they have made little progress in all these years. Recently, however, they have uncovered some clues that prove to be very interesting."

"They have had children?" She guessed quickly, and her grandfather actually smiled at her deduction.

"A _child_. To be precise, one of _those_." The girl's eyes widened in surprise. The elder nodded.

"Yes, as you can see, we are interested in recovering that offspring. It's far too rare for us to merely ignore." He reached for the cup of tea, sipping elegantly from it.

"However, the training for your distant cousin has been sorely delayed thanks to the willfulness of the father, and so we charge you with not only the recovery, but also the mentoring duties for your cousin." The girl blinked, about to say something but clamping her mouth shut at the last moment.

The elder raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"Um, with all due respect, Grandfather..." She sounded a little hesitant. "Why me?"

He actually smirked. "Because we cannot spare anyone else, and you're free for at least 3 months after the ceremony. What better than to put you to this task?" His expression grew warmer as he perceived the subtle frown creasing his granddaughter's face.

"Frankly, child, you're one of the smartest ones of the whole generation that our clan has produced. If there is anyone capable of tracking our wayward relatives down, there is no other that I would trust more. Your brother would have said the same." He added for emphasis, noticing that she straightened with a determined look in her eye at the mention of her brother.

"I understand, Grandfather. I will not fail the clan." She bowed to him respectfully, then asked.

"When will the ceremony be held? I must make ready for it." He nodded, pleased by her decorum.

"At the next full moon. Until then, rest well and prepare yourself for it." She bowed again, before humbly taking her leave.

He watched her go with sad eyes, sorrowing that he had to deliver such burdens to her so young. Absently, he patted his one good leg, before awkwardly touching his other limb. The prosthetic leg always felt so unnatural, but at least it enabled him to walk with only the aid of a crutch rather than being confined to a wheelchair.

Such was the price of following their duty. Death or dismemberment. He sighed, picking up his tea again as he gazed at the waxing moon in the distance.

_Akito...watch over your sister. Watch over Aika..._

~*~*~

The moon was hiding shyly behind noxious clouds, but the distant flickering of artificial light provided some scant illumination in the night. The wind whistled in its passage, stirring up dirt, dust, and other unidentified particles.

A shadow moved, a darker patch against a black canvas, barely noticeable to anyone of normal eyesight. A stray cat, rummaging in an overturned trash bin, froze in place as the ominous shadow passed, giving vent to a screeching yowl as its hair stood literally on end, tail upright. Then it did what any intelligent animal would do: run like hell.

Patent leather shoes seemed almost loath to step into the dingy little back alley, but the resulting crunch of the step taken announced that necessity overcame an aversion to grime. Still, there was barely any noise other than that first step, the figure pretty much ghosting along into a very familiar looking little alley.

A polished wooden cane snapped down sharply next to an abandoned metal pipe. At one glance, the pipe looked rusted at one end...or perhaps not. The figure did not bend to check though, at least not for the pipe. He was far more interested in the ground next to the pipe.

"Interesting..." The voice that slithered out was oily, with a distinctly aristocratic ring to it. He eyed the destroyed wall, then back at the ground. His face split into a very pointed smirk, touching a gloved hand to his chin.

"Very interesting..."


End file.
